Chapter 9

Bo and Sirius were sleeping on the bed. Her head was rested on his bare chest. But she soon woke up in a start. It was in the middle of the night when she realized they had to return to Hogwarts. "Sirius…" She nudged him.

He groaned "Hmm…?" He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "

We have to go back to school, before we get into trouble". Seeing that she's right, he complied. They quickly got dressed, and they made their way to the secret passage to Hogwarts.

Lily and James, however, didn't spend the night in the Room of Requirements. They had a little rest and then they walked back to the Gryffindor common room. They departed with a kiss and they left to their rooms.

The next day was quite interesting. The guys sat at the Great Hall. They saw Sirius and laughed. He was tired, yet satisfied. He sat down with them.

"It was special. I love her now more than ever."

"Because you did 'it'?" James asked.

"No, mate. It's the emotional bond that counts".

Remus was astonished. "Who are you, and what have you done with Sirius Black?" They shared a laugh.

"Well, Pads, you finally met the one." Sirius nodded at James' comment.

The girls were getting ready for another school day. Lily was brushing her hair in front of the mirror, Alice was fixing her tie, Sarah was sitting on her bed, reading a book and Genevieve was trying to wake Bo up.

"Bo?" She shook her. Lily looked to see if she had woken up, but sighed when she saw she hadn't woken up. Genevieve hit her with a pillow.

"BO!"

Finally, she groaned. "What?"

"Wake up, sunshine! C'mon!" Slowly but surely, she woke up. She marched straight to the bathroom.

"What time did she get back?" Sarah closed her book and asked. Alice shrugged her shoulders.

Lily replied "She wasn't here when I got back. I guess she came back early in the morning."

"You don't think she-?" Genevieve was cut off by Lily's gasp.

"They spent the night together."

Alice snorted "Of course they did, Gen. And that means…" Bo walked out from the bathroom, all ready to go, until the girls came to her.

"You and Sirius…?"

Blushing, Bo nodded. The girls shrieked and hugged.

Bo laughed "It's not a big deal, girls. We love each other and that's what couples do."

Changing the subject, Bo cried out "What's that?" She pointed to Alice's left hand.

She showed them her ring "I wanted to tell you…Frank and I are getting married!" This morning was certainly a morning full of surprises.

They met up with the boys and ate breakfast. Remus looked at Sarah and nodded to her. She knew that he wanted to talk to her and Natalie. He then looked at the entrance and saw Natalie smiling at him. He got up from the table, joined by Sarah, and walked to her direction. "Good morning, Remus."

"Good morning. May I have a word with you?"

Natalie nodded. "Of course." The three walked out of the Great Hall. The girls saw the disturbed look on his face, but they let him start the conversation.

"I know you're good friends, that's no secret. I know you have feelings for me and I'm highly flattered. I don't want to hurt you, but I've decided to stand aside and date neither of you. I don't want to be responsible for you not talking to each other."

Natalie and Sarah were stunned, but reluctantly accepted his decision. Remus hugged them and returned to the Great Hall. The girls looked at each other and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry! My behavior was unacceptable. I should have never stopped talking to you!" Natalie cried.

"I'm sorry too, Nat!" They hugged.

They parted and Sarah sniffed "It's almost full moon. I can get quite emotional."

Natalie nodded apprehensively. The other girls were quickly informed on what happened. They were delighted when they found out that their last lesson got cancelled. Sarah, as usual, fled to the library. When she got there, she saw Remus. After what he said, she preferred to avoid him. But when he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back and walk quickly away.

James and Sirius were outside on the snowy grounds, along with their girlfriends. They were sitting on a bench, laughing hysterically at something Sirius did.

"Can you believe we're out of here in four months?" Bo asked them.

They nodded slowly.

"I can't. It'll be so hard for me to cope with the fact that we won't be back for another year" Lily frowned.

"But look on the bright side; we'll be free to do whatever we want." James kissed her cheek.

She looked at him "That's what I'm afraid of." Sirius lightened up the mood by picking up snow and throwing it on Bo's head. James and Lily laughed when Bo chased her boyfriend around.

Natalie and Genevieve sat in their room. "Maybe it's better that you're not dating him. You'll just hurt Sarah." Natalie nodded.

"I agree, but don't forget that she broke up with Greg a few months ago, and now she wants Remus?"

Genevieve shrugged. "Maybe he'll come round. Don't dwell on it". Natalie knew she was right. She had to stop these false hopes she had.

The boys noticed Remus's sudden change in behavior. He became sick, as usual, before every full moon. Sometimes he was even agitated, but they knew how to deal with it. When Remus transformed, they were there at his side, in their animal form. Very few people knew this secret. Unfortunately for Sarah, Genevieve was the only one who can try to help her. None of the other girls were animaguses. But when it will happen, the boys promised to help her as well. Sarah felt lonelier than ever. The girls had no idea what she was going through. Her face was paler and sweatier than ever. Sometimes she threw tantrums. The girls tried their best to be at her side, but it was harder than they thought. She and Remus were isolated from each other. Sarah thought that this might be good for her. She needed time to figure out what she wants. She wasn't ready for another relationship.

Natalie sat in the Gryffindor common room with Bo. They were playing cards when they saw Remus come down the stairs. He sat down on the sofa, which was placed in front of the fireplace. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. They gazed in each other's eyes for a long time. Bo noticed this and said "I'll go see Sirius", and left them alone in the common room. Natalie sat by his side. He noticed her eyes, so bright next to the fire. Her cute little button nose flared up when she laughed about their last lesson in Divination. She usually kept him informed about their classes. His eyes soon were set on her lips. They were red and heart shaped. He wondered what it will be like to kiss them. After she finished talking, she leaned her elbow on the top of sofa's pillow, and rested her head on her hand. She chuckled a bit and looked at Remus. Even though he was tired, he was quite awake around her. Natalie all of a sudden noticed they were sitting closer than ever. Remus fondled her short black hair, held the back of her head and kissed her. And she kissed him back.

After three weeks, Sarah and Remus were in agony. Bound in their beds, excused from classes, suffering more than ever. It was Thursday when they knew it was full moon, and the other marauders made their preparations. After their lessons, Sirius and James went to rest for tonight. Lily noticed that James was worried. Very worried. James smiled at her, kissed her and went up to his bed. Lily sighed 'This nightmare will never end', she thought while walking back to her room. She saw Sarah sleeping peacefully for once. She sat by her bed and kissed her forehead. "You'll be alright. You'll always have us beside you." She whispered to Sarah.

Her friends didn't know, but Natalie secretly visited Remus after class. She used to sit by his bed and stroke his hair, and talk to him. They grew closer, but they wanted their relationship to remain a secret. They weren't sure how Sarah would take it. Remus groaned "It's tonight."

Natalie licked her lips and nodded. "I'll leave you to sleep." They kissed and she left the room.

Walking down the stairs, she bumped into her cousin "What were you doing in our room?" James asked her.

"I wanted to see how Remus was doing."

James raised his eyebrow in doubt. "You wanted to move on. You decided not to talk to him. What's going on?"

"If I tell you, do you promise not to tell?" James nodded.

Natalie sighed "Well, Remus and I are going out."

James laughed. "You and him? How did that happen? I don't believe you."

Natalie shrugged, "Then don't believe it." James was shocked.

"Well, I'm happy for you! But what about Sarah?"

Natalie shook her head "I honestly don't know. We decided not to tell anyone yet. That is, until you asked. That's why I'm asking you not to tell."

James nodded "Sure, I can do that". Natalie smiled gratefully and walked down the stairs. James shook his head and walked up to his room to rest.