Summary: The first full moon of the school year brings good tidings. And by the way, you wanted to leave a review. :Jedi Mind Trick:
Chapter Seven: The Harvest Moon —among other things
After leaving Honeydukes, Severus and Tahlia decided to return to the castle. As they were walking, Tahlia heard a voice from behind.
"Hey, Tahlia, wait!" She knew that voice. She and Severus turned around to find Sirius briskly walking towards them. Following closely behind were Remus and Peter. Severus immediately turned back around and continued up the hill.
Tahlia put her hands in her pockets and took a deep breath. Sirius walked too close to her. He was less than a foot away from her. He pursed his lips and looked over her shoulder at Severus, almost at the front gate now. He turned back to Tahlia with a furrowed brow.
"Is that who you stood me up for?" he hissed.
"I didn't stand you up. I told you I was going with a friend." She looked Sirius coldly in the eyes.
"Fine." he said, clearly annoyed. Tahlia hesitated, but spoke up.
"Sirius, I should tell you now," he raised an eyebrow at her, "I can't go out with you." His eyes softened for a second then quickly hardened again.
"Why?" he asked, as if he had a huge lump in his throat.
"I just don't feel that way about you." She wanted to die. If only he had asked her last year instead of Kim …and before Severus. One of Sirius' eyes began to twitch a bit. Holding back a laugh, Tahlia continued, "I think you are really funny …and smart …and nice and all; it's just that you are one of Remus' best friends. And I won't lie; you've gone out with probably half the girls at Hogwarts. That can be a deal breaker." For a second, she thought he was actually going to cry, but just as she thought this, a silly grin stretched across his face. He laughed quietly to himself and nodded at Tahlia.
"I guess you're right. Remus hasn't directly talked to me in over a week." Sirius shifted in his place, hesitating. "You are really different, you know? From the other girls. It's a good thing." He smiled and leaned in, as if to kiss Tahlia on the cheek. She ducked away from him and her cheeks turned a bright pink. How embarrassing!
"Right." Sirius stood back and gave a knowing smile. "Sorry about that."
"I'm even sorrier. If only you had done this last year." She added thoughtfully, and then couldn't contain a chuckle. He gave her a sour face, but couldn't resist joining in.
"Have a good laugh at my expense, please," joked Sirius. Tahlia looked over his shoulder at Remus and Peter. They were engaged in their own conversation. She could tell Remus was struggling not to look at her and Sirius.
"Well, I better get going then." She smiled weakly at Sirius, who returned no more enthusiasm in his own smile.
"Yes. Sorry to keep you from Snivelly …Well, not really. At any rate, Goodbye." He turned around and walked back to his friends. Tahlia turned towards the castle to find that Severus was nowhere to be seen. She ran up the hill hoping to find him just inside the hall, but he wasn't there.
Instead, she decided to go to the library. She sat at an empty table and took out a small piece of parchment and the new quill she bought herself at Scrivenshaft's. She wrote:
Dear Remus,
I just wanted to tell you, before you go tomorrow night…
BE CAREFUL! Don't do anything stupid! Don't do
anything I would.
…Aren't you going to laugh? Anyway, hopefully soon,
I will be able to finish that blasted potion and you'll
never have to do something as incredibly stupid as
what you do again. And I WILL finish it, if it's the last
thing that I do.
(Too many 'do's if you ask me.)
I love you,
Just so you know.
-Tahlia
She folded the note and placed it in her pocket then took out a book to read until dinner.
Severus walked into the Slytherin common room. It was relatively empty, aside from a few first and second years, but he continued through to his dormitory anyway. He sat on his bed and took off his coat. He placed it over his bedpost but it slid off and hit the floor with a small 'thud.' There was something heavy in it. Severus picked up the jacket and checked the pockets. In the right pocket, he found a small, pink box with shimmering, red letters across it spelling, 'Sweet-Hearts.' These were the chocolates Tahlia had picked out at Honeydukes. He opened the box to find several bite-sized, heart-shaped chocolates. He put the chocolates back into his jacket. What a girl, he thought.
He sat quietly on the edge of the bed. Now, what am I going to do about Malfoy? Or better yet, what is Malfoy going to do about me? He let out a loud sigh and laid back. As he stared at the ceiling, he remembered that, just minutes before, he and Tahlia had kissed. He weakly smiled to himself and no sooner, was drifting off to sleep.
He was woken abruptly by loud chatter from the common room. Everyone was back from Hogsmeade already, and making their way to the Great Hall for dinner. He sat up and swept the hair from his face before grabbing his jacket with Tahlia's chocolates, then making his way up to dinner.
Tahlia was already sitting at the head of the Ravenclaw table, alone again. She looked up and down the Slytherin table and at the archway several times, but couldn't find Severus. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find a disheveled looking Snape holding out a little, pink box. She beamed at him.
"My chocolates! I had forgotten about them. Thank you, Severus," she ended with a faint, flirty air. He stifled a laugh as she took the chocolates.
"Apt choice, by the way; It helped me to remember you were a girl." He gave a rare smile.
"Let's take a walk after dinner, right?"
"Why not?" He turned on his heal and walked to his usual seat at the Slytherin table, just across hers at Ravenclaw.
Tahlia was finished before Severus had even begun. She sat up and walked towards the Gryffindor Table. She walked to Remus and handed him the note she wrote earlier in the library. He gave her an annoyed look but took the letter anyway. She turned back and made her way into the hall. She took a seat on a bench beside the staircase that led down to the Slytherin dungeons. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall behind her. Then she heard a voice.
"Tahlia …Lupin, isn't it?" Her eyes shot open to find the source of the voice. Standing in front of her was a very tall, thin boy, with silvery blond hair and striking, bright blue eyes.
"Yes, that's right. And you're Lucius Malfoy." She stood up as he smiled devilishly at her. Maybe he does like me. She decided to test her notion. "And what are you," she pressed her forefinger into his hard shoulder, "doing out here? It's dinner time." She relaxed her hand, but before she could lower it, he grabbed it swiftly, and tightly. His grin hadn't faded as he let go and her hand drop down to her side. She noticed her breath had quickened as he did so.
"I could ask you the same thing. But I'd rather ask you something else." She batted her eyelashes at him and leaned against the cold, stone wall. His eyes were burning into hers but she couldn't look away. He placed one hand over her shoulder, and leaned over her.
"What is it?" she asked, almost in a whisper.
"You are such a clever …pretty girl. Why do you even bother with a boy like Snape?" He does, doesn't he? Severus wasn't lying! she thought.
"I don't know what you mean." she said innocently.
"It's just that I've seen you two together several times." He has been watching me?
"Well, we are friends. I'd even say he's my best friend."
"So he must care a lot for you. Who wouldn't, thought?" He smirked.
"Why? Do you?"
"I'm only curious." He looked her up and down before looming more heavily over her.
"I think he does; care for me a lot." she said matter-of-factly. And curiosity is a dangerous thing, you know?" He met her eyes quickly again, and scoffed. He stood correctly and made his way around the adjacent wall. Tahlia started to walk back towards the great hall when she felt a firm hand grasp her arm, yanking her to a halt. She stood still then felt a warm, soft air on her ear. Lucius' breath.
"Your face is lovely. Let us hope that nothing ever happens to it." He lingered over her shoulder as his scent crawled over her cheek and up to her nostrils. It stung her nose, but was entrancing. She turned her neck and looked up into his eyes. They were menacing but their beauty enraptured her. Then four boys exited the great hall. Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter. They all stopped in their tracks, gawking. Tahlia and Lucius' heads bolted forward, towards the door. Lucius quickly unhanded Tahlia and pushed her away, off to his side. Tahlia looked at Remus' face. He was furious. James and Sirius stepped forward, wands out.
"Is this creep bothering you Tahlia?" James asked, scowling at Lucius. She looked over at him. Lucius met her eyes with his own. The corner of his mouth twitched and Tahlia spoke up.
"No, he is not. In fact, you are the ones who are bothering me!" she spoke loudly, towards Remus. Lucius raised a triumphant eyebrow then turned around and continued back down to the dungeons.
"What were you doing …with HIM?" Remus almost shouted. This was the loudest Tahlia had ever heard him speak. It still wasn't yelling, but it was definitely not pleasant.
"That's none of your business," she hissed. "It doesn't matter anyway; you can't stop me from seeing someone."
"You are SEEING him!" This was definitely closer to a shout.
"Oh, SHUT UP, REMUS." He looked taken about for a moment. "You aren't MUM and you aren't DAD!"
"So you won't stay away from him unless Mum or Dad tells you to? Because I have no problem telling them that you're messing around with a future resident of AZKABAN!" Now he was shouting. Other children were beginning to file out of the great hall. Tahlia's blood was boiling. She walked up to Remus and grabbed the front of his shirt.
"I'm not welcome in your life; I'm not allowed to talk to your friends; I can't even talk to you during most of the school year, because you don't want me to 'interfere with your studies,'" she pushed him back with both hands and he staggered a few feet, "TELL ME, WHY I SHOULD LET YOU INTERFERE WITH MY LIFE, AND MY FRIENDS, AND WHAT I WANT TO DO?" She ran down the hall and out the main door. Remus looked stunned. Sirius walked up to him and patted him on the back.
"I know how you feel. I have an evil kid brother you know?" Remus glared at him. Sirius put his arms up in surrender. "It was only a joke."
Tahlia stopped running around the corner of the main door. She leaned on the wall and let out an angry, low moan. WHY CAN'T HE JUST STAY OUT OF MY LIFE, LIKE I STAY OUT OF HIS? She stood back up and ran towards the trees beside the lake where her and Severus sit. She slowed down as she neared her tree. She walked a little closer to the large protruding stump that she usually sat on but was suddenly tripped by a root near her foot. She fell to ground and landed on her side, hard, with a loud smack. She felt a hot stinging feeling in her cheek. She had hit her face against a large, flat rock. She pushed herself away from the ground and onto her hip. She looked around to see if anyone had witnessed her humiliating, and quite literal, fall from grace. No one was there. Her breaths became shallower and tears began to fall down her face. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and wiped over her face to dry her tears. When she brought her sleeve down, she found more than tears. She found blood. Oh bloody hell, she thought. She needed to go to the hospital wing. Pushing herself onto one knee, she regained her balance. She brought her other leg up, but right as she shifted her weight she felt a horrible, pulling pain shoot up her entire right leg. She threw herself back down, in a hurry to relieve the pain. More tears began to spill down her face. She took another deep breath. I guess I'll just have to wait here for Severus. Hopefully he comes soon. This is just ridiculous. She laid down properly and looked up at the sky. The moon was almost full. Just then, a song popped into her head. One she had heard this past summer on her mother's muggle radio. She bought the record a week later. She began to sing.
"In a little while from now
If I'm not feeling any less sour
I promised myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower
And climbing to the top
Will throw myself- off
In an effort to
make clear to who
What it's like when you are shattered…"
She laughed to herself and finished, "Alone again, Naturally…"
"What an appropriate song. Did you write that yourself? What happened to your face?" She looked up at Severus.
"I almost died." She sat up as he walked around the front of her, laughing in a way Tahlia had never heard before.
"Are you alright?" he said between a chuckle.
"I tripped on that root, there …And hit my face on this rock, here." She glared at him, still laughing. "Just help me," she sighed.
"Can't you walk?"
"No. I also sprained my ankle." He stood up and walked towards her. She held her hand up and he took it, pulling her onto her good leg. He placed her hand over his neck and his other arm around her waist.
"Do you think you could walk like this?"
"I can try." She hobbled forward a few feet then, with a loud whimper pushed all of her weight onto Severus. They both fell back onto the grass. She sat up and looked over at Severus. He glared at her side-ways from the ground. Her brow wrinkled in apology. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" He smiled sarcastically and got back to his feet.
"So you can't walk, even with my help. What now, Wingardium Leviosa or Locomotor?"
"NO! …I'm sort of…afraid of heights." She embarrassingly confessed.
"Well, I'm not going to float you through Madam Pomfrey's window. You'll only be a few feet in the air. Merlin," he complained.
"Yes, I'll only be a few feet off the ground, but …I'd rather crawl. Either that, or you can wait until I fall asleep to do your Locomotor."
"Or Levicorpus."
"What?"
"Nothing," he sighed. "If you really are that afraid, well, I'll just carry you." He rolled his eyes.
"Fine with me!" she said all too anxious. He rolled his eyes once more, while clicking his tongue, and kneeled down beside her. She wrapped one arms around his neck as he placed his arm around her back and the place behind her knees. "Now remember, use your legs, not your back," Tahlia reminded him matter-of-factly. Severus struggled to stand up straight, then staggered a bit, but found his balance.
"You could …lose a few …pounds…you know?" he spat out between gasps for air.
"I'm not fat! I'm just tall." He stood there a few moments to catch his breath then started up the hill. Tahlia smiled to herself and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt the warmth of her blush creep over her cheeks. They were passing the backside of Hagrid's hut Tahlia's head shot up towards Severus. A funny grin passed across her face.
"Excellent. What is it now? I can never wait long enough to humor your every whim." He stopped walking.
"Oh, shut up. Don't you realize how romantic this is?" She bit her lip to stop from smiling so extremely.
"You are bleeding, broken, and bewildered. I'm very sorry, Miss Lupin, but I don't find anything romant-" Before he could finish, she pressed her lips onto his; she could feel his curling into a smile beneath hers. She freed one hand and swept it across his cheek. She placed her fingertips under his chin, loosening his jaw and proceeded to further the kiss.
She leaned away from his face and smiled in self-satisfied sort of way. She snorted, stifling a laugh. "Severus, my blood is all on your face now!" She wiped his nose with her already blood stained sleeve. "As much as I'd like to stay here, I need to go see Madam Pomfrey. "Severus gave her a desperate look that made him appear ten years younger, but submitted. He smiled in a most un-Snape sort of way. Acting on a quite unexpected impulse, Tahlia proceeded to lick the tip of Severus sizable nose. She buried her face into his shoulder giggling. Severus wrinkled his brow in utter perplexity.
"Severus? Are you my beau now?" Tahlia cunningly redirected his focus.
"No …I believe 'gigolo' is the correct word."
Tahlia woke up and looked around the room. She was still in the hospital wing. There was nobody else there but her. She looked around her. Every wall was hardly a wall, but a large window. Sunlight poured into the room from every direction. It has to be lunch by now, she thought. All of a sudden, all of her memories of the night before came rushing back. Tahlia beamed, and brought her hand up to her cheek. All she felt was smooth skin. It was a little tender, but there was no scratch or scab. She then sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She hesitated for a moment, but stood up. No pain! She smiled, pleased with herself. She turned to the table beside her bed. There was an envelope addressed to her. She hurried over to it and ripped it open eagerly. It was from Remus.
Dear Tahlia,
Thank you for your concern.
You are a really great sister. I'm sorry for sometimes
forgetting that about you. Anyway, I should trust that
you know better than I what is wrong or right for yourself,
but I will say, don't let your guard down. Not just
concerning Malfoy, but concerning everyone. Your
friendship and trust is something to be earned, don't just
give it away. I know I am setting out to sound just like I
had planned not to, so I'll stop while I'm ahead.
I love you too.
And I won't do anything you would.
-Remus
She smiled and placed the letter back on the table. She sighed and returned to the bed.
Madam Pomfrey returned shortly and explained to Tahlia that she would be released in time for dinner.
Freig, the Ravenclaw house elf, brought Tahlia her clothes and robe shortly before dinner. She dressed and made her way down to the great hall. Trying her hardest not to look at the spot where Remus sat (which was currently unoccupied), she made her way to the front of the blue table. She sat between a little, lone first-year boy and two giggling, third-year girls. She served food, but didn't really have a desire to eat. Her gaze slowly lifted and floated over the Gryffindor table. Of course, Remus' seat was empty. She tried to picture him sitting there, under the full moon, just laughing, being normal.
Every month, when Remus changed, so did Tahlia. She became nervous and hostile (another reason she had trouble keeping a friend for longer than a month at a time). She thought herself into becoming sick. Her brother was just a few hundred feet away, either enduring the horrible agony of his transformation, or romping around, a hideous monster.
With her gaze still fixed on the empty seats, she began to remember.
It was a Saturday evening, late in the summer. The summer before Tahlia was to enter her third year in muggle-school, and Remus, his fourth. She remembered she had turned 8 the last year. That must mean, Remus was only 9.
It was just after dinner. Her mother was washing dishes and her father was reading at the table. It was time to feed Mimsy and Romulus. Mimsy was Tahlia's kitten. She had gotten it for her birthday. Romulus was Remus' dog; a two year old Great Dane. "Far too large a dog," according to her father. Tahlia and Remus were totally responsible for their pets. Tahlia remembered her far too enthusiastic father's speech about 'responabilty,' that warm, spring day.
Remus and her walked into the garage. Tahlia clenched a tiny saucer no bigger than her hand, while Remus held a large bowl, with a diameter probably the same width as his waist. They filled the containers with animal food, accordingly. Tahlia waited for Remus to fill Romulus' bowl before they made their way to the back porch together. It was dark already.
The Lupin cottage was located in a small, muggle town a 3 hour drive out of London. A lightly wooded area with a small lake surrounded it. The house was made of light brown bricks. Tahlia thought the color much-resembled Remus and her mother's hair. The color her hair had once been; a sort of sandpaper, or the darkest shade of blonde. It was two stories tall, yet wide. It was a bit shabby, but dignified. It was beautiful too. It stood in front of a green and brown backdrop. Over the back fence was the lake, obscured by a few trees and wildflowers.
Tahlia and Remus stepped out onto the porch. Mimsy was perched on the veranda ledge. Tahlia met her there. Remus walked further out into the yard. He noticed the back gate was open. He sat the bowl down near the edge of the yard and walked to the open gate. He looked around and near the gate, but Romulus was nowhere in sight. "Romulus!" He shouted, startling Tahlia. Remus waited a few moments, then turned around to make his way back to the house. Tahlia met Remus eyes, imploring him. But just then, just as Remus took his first step back towards the house, something jumped on him. Something large. Tahlia froze in horror. It was a wolf, an enormous wolf, with silver hairs that glowed in the moonlight. Remus screamed at the top of his lungs. Tahlia tried to scream too, but she found that she couldn't speak. The monster clamped it's jaws into Remus leg, right above his left knee as he let out a horrible, shrill cry. Her mother and father barged through the back door. Her mother froze and quickly brought her hands up to her mouth, in horror. Her father shuddered and quickly ran back inside the house. Her mother slowly side-stepped towards her, not looking away from her son, being attacked, ravaged, maybe killed. Tears poured down her face as she blindly grasped for Tahlia. Tahlia's gaze broke as she looked up at her mother reaching for her. She threw the bowl she was still holding and ran under her mother's arm, down the stairs of the veranda. She isn't sure why, or when, but she decided it was up to her to save Remus. The wolf looked up at her from above Remus. She froze again, not 10 feet away from the bloody scene. The wolf stared her in the eyes, and huffed. Thinking back on it, it was as if he was amused, and the wolves' 'huff' slightly resembled a chuckle. The wolf crawled over Remus scratching across his face with his hind leg. Tahlia backed away a few steps. The wolf crouched low to the ground, stalking her. It was no more than 5 feet away from her. It relaxed and rolled its shoulders back, about to pounce. It leapt into the air at her, but seconds before it could reach her, something stopped it. Something pushed it to the ground. She heard a loud whimper and then a low, guttural growl. It was Romulus. Tahlia heard another loud bang. Her father barged back out of the door, this time, equipped with his wand. Romulus leapt back at the wolf pushing it onto the gate. She heard another loud cry from the wolf. Tahlia looked back at Remus, stirring on the ground, his eyes blood-shot. There was blood splattered across his face, as well as everywhere else on his body. He groaned and began to vomit as he sobbed, nuzzling his check into the grass beside his head. Tahlia ran to him and kneeled beside him. She was afraid to touch him. The trim of her sundress grazed the grass, catching blood. Her father ran to her and Remus. He pushed Tahlia down and pushed his own body down over them, to shield them. He pointed his wand out towards the bloodied animals. "STUPEFY!" Tahlia watched from under her father's arm. A red jet of light shot at the wolf. He didn't budge. "IMMOBULUS!" Nothing. "IMPEDIMENTA!" Nothing. "INCARCEROUS!" Nothing. Her father eyes narrowed and he strained and gripped her harder underneath him. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Tahlia jaw fell open as a silver mist shot out of her father's wand, mutating into an animal as it fell to the floor. Her father quickly averted his wand and pointed it at the wolf…now biting at Romulus' limp body. The animal from her father's wand, the patronus, was another huge, white, beautiful wolf, and it was galloping towards the monster that had killed Romulus, and possibly, Remus. Tahlia's father didn't even hesitate to pull her up from the ground and shove her into her mother, who was running towards her. She was scooped up and whisked off into the house. Looking over her mother's shoulder, she saw her father gingerly enclose Remus in his arms. She looked over to where the wolves had been. She only saw Romulus's body lying lifeless on the ground. Off in the distance, beside the lake, she saw the faint glimmer of her father's wolf running after something. Her father quickly followed Tahlia and her mother into the house. He shut the door behind him and instructed her mother to lock all of the doors and windows and go to their bedroom with Tahlia. He then dissapparated with Remus in his arms.
The next morning, her father came home alone. He told them that Remus was nearly dead by the time he arrived at St. Mungo's. And that a werewolf had bitten him. Tahlia noticed her mother's expression. All color left her face as she sat, paralyzed.
Before her father left again, he held Tahlia tightly in his arms. He sobbed quietly into her tiny shoulder. She whispered to him, "Is he going to come home?" Her father sucked in his breath and pulled Tahlia out of his arms. He held her at arms length and looked her in the eye. He almost looked angry. "Yes. He will come home." He yelled. She remembered it seemed as thought he was trying to convince himself, more than her.
In the next few weeks, several things happened. Tahlia's father buried Romulus under a patch of wild flowers in an obliging field. After, he warded the gate door in the back yard. He even enlisted my mother to call a muggle security company and have a system installed. He never stayed for dinner. He left before sunset every day to stay the night with Remus. After three weeks, there was good news. Remus had 'woken up' as her father had put it. He was talking, walking, and asking when he could go home. Then everything got blurry again. The next thing she could remember, was sitting with Remus.
"…So, it's too dangerous for me to go to school." Remus looked down at his feet and sighed.
"Well, I'm going, and I'll learn the magic to break the curse," she proudly exclaimed to Remus.
"No, Tahlia. There is no spell or potion that can fix me," he said under his breath.
"Well then I'll make one up. Papa Julian says really powerful wizards can do that." She retorted. He looked up at her as a smirk spread across his face.
"Grandpa's right, but you're are just a normal witch, and you are only eight years old." He giggled.
"Well, you are just nine years old, and besides, I haven't even gone to school yet. I meant when I grow up. So don't believe me if you want, but you are gonna be wro-"
"TAHLIA?" She came crashing back down to earth. Someone was calling her. She looked up behind her. Kimberly? "Are you ok? …I've been standing here for a good two minutes." She sounded concerned.
"Oh, no. I mean yes. I'm okay, thanks." Tahlia looked back up at Kim with a confused, weak smile.
"Well, I was wondering if I could sit down with you? I wanted to talk." Tahlia nodded and scooted over. Kim slid onto the bench beside her.
Kimberly was very tall; taller than Tahlia. She had yellow-blonde hair only down to her jaw. She had big brown eyes and pouty, salmon-colored lips that rested nicely on a smooth, milky-white complexion. She was conventionally pretty in every way possible.
They quietly sat together for a few moments before Kim began. "Tahlia, I know we haven't spoken for 6 months or so, but I really miss you. And if we leave Hogwarts next year, and never speak to each other again," she took a deep breath and continued, "I just don't want that to happen. I know we were only friends a couple years, if that, but we were good friends, I thought." Her voice drifted into a whisper.
"You haven't talked to me since last April," Tahlia thought aloud.
"I know I haven't! That's also what I'm apologizing for." She bit her lip and struggled to look into Tahlia's eyes. "That, and the whole Sirius fiasco. It was a fucking horrible thing to do." Tahlia giggled a bit, remembering Kim's tendency to overuse curse words. She always thought it was a bit silly, but she had to admit, she missed it. "I knew you liked him loads, and that if I went with him, it would hurt you. But he was fucking gorgeous and I was a silly little girl who though he was going to ask me to marry him." Tahlia chuckled at this.
"Well, yes, you should be sorry!" The girls grinned. "I was in love with him!"
"Well, I guess all I wanted to say, is that I'm sorry. Then I wanted to ask if you'd talk to this sorry sap again. I have no friends. It's really quite embarassing."
"I know what you mean …Let's get out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"We are going to meet my friend …who is a boy." Tahlia giggled.
"Your boyfriend? Sirius? Isn't that going to …awkward?" Tahlia and Kim slowed down to a fast walk.
"No…Not Sirius. Don't mention him to Se-" she stopped herself.
"Starts with an 'S,' then?" They entered the library and briskly walked to the furthest table. They took seats opposite each other. Kim looked at Tahlia and grinned. "I haven't talked to anyone aside from the professors after we split up."
"Ah, the horrors of not having a sibling your parents can force to be friends with you. You have no sympathy from me."
"S…Sebastian…Simon…Seth…S…S…I dunno. Who is it?"
"You'll see." Tahlia looked over to the window. The moon was shinning. It was a horrible sight. She turned back to the girl. "Kim…I know it may be hard to get back into the groove of things, as far as becoming close again, but I really hope it happens. I hate the girls I bunk with and it gets really tiring pretending to hate you to everyone."
"Not that you talk to anyone, arse face," Kim sneered. "So that's all you'll get out of talking to me again?" She raised her eyebrows.
"Well, that and Christmas is coming up." Tahlia looked over the girl's shoulders to find Severus staring dumbfounded at her and Kim. "There he is!" Kim's head snapped around. She turned back to Tahlia with a quizzical look on her face.
"Where? Is he behind Snape?" Tahlia clicked her tongue at Kim.
"No, stupid. He IS Snape. Severus actually." Tahlia waved him over to the table. He slowly began to walk towards the girls with a skeptical squint in his eye. Kim rolled her eyes. Then looked back towards the door.
"Now look what you've done! He's actually coming over here!" Tahlia reached her hand and slightly slapped Kim's cheek.
Severus stopped in front of the table. Tahlia scooted one seat down and pulled the boy by the arm into the chair beside her.
"Severus, this is Kim." Tahlia beamed and snuck her arm under the boy's. Severus looked side-ways at Tahlia, then nervously at the blonde girl across from them. Kim opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, instead, brightly smiling.
"Hello." She said sweetly. She looked back to Tahlia's face to find her glowing and her cheeks burning pink. Kim chuckled and extended her hand out to the boy. "I'm Kim." The boy contorted his brow and gave a weak smile. He had expected less of the girl.
"Hello." He shook her hand. Kim smiled knowingly then started again.
"Well it's getting sort of late." She stood up and slung her bag over one shoulder. "Tahlia, when you come up, come to my dorm. Maybe we can get one of the first years or something to trade rooms." She smiled brightly and turned to walk away before quickly returning to the tableside. "Also, it was lovely to meet you, Severus." She nodded and made her way out of the library.
A/N: Song is 'Alone Again, Naturally' by Gilbert O'Sullivan. Also, on my author's page, I posted the banner I made for this fic. Go check it out!