Disclaimer: All rights go to J.K. Rowling. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Updated as of 4/18/2020.

Chapter Thirty-One

The Falling Star

The castle was dark when Sirius and Cassie reentered from the grounds. The flames in the braziers lining the walls were dim and the shadows thick in the spaces where the light did not reach. Sirius swept his gaze over the entrance hall before tugging on Cassie's hand, held firm in his own, prompting her to follow him.

"Stay quiet," he said. "Filch and Mrs. Norris are bound to be lurking around tonight."

The dark-haired witch gave no sign of having heard him, and he stifled a sigh. This whole night had been a complete disaster—scratch that, he thought—this whole month had been a complete disaster. Things had been complicated ever since Cassie had almost died from Veritaserum, but tonight seemed to be the icing on the cake.

Sirius knew that Remus was not going to take Cassie's discovery of his secret well. As much as they had pushed him to tell her over the last few months, he had still been terrified that she would hate him. And to have her walk in on him transforming… Sirius's mouth pressed into a grim line, and he cast the silent witch a brief glance over his shoulder.

She walked with her head down, her dark hair falling into her face, tears still clinging to her lashes and cheeks. She felt awful, that much was clear; and as much as he wanted to sympathize with her, his anger was still taking up most of his headspace. It had been Valentine's Day all over again; she could have died tonight, and he didn't dare take that lightly. As easygoing as he had tried to sound on the way out of the tunnel under the Willow, he had nearly been shaking with fury and fear—not at her, but at himself.

He didn't know when he had promised himself to protect Cassie; perhaps it had been a subconscious vow, one that had always been there since the beginning, like when he befriended James, Remus, and Peter, but one thing that was starkly clear was that he was doing a piss-poor job of it. Obviously, keeping her at arm's length wasn't working; Cassie Alderfair had a knack for trouble finding her wherever she went, and Sirius had to accept that that was a part of her. He didn't like it, of course, but after two near-death experiences in the last month, he realized, with no small sense of resign, that he would have to get used to it.

"How long?" she asked quietly, breaking the silence, and though her voice was a whisper, Sirius still flinched at the sound.

"How long what?" he said when she didn't elaborate, and she gestured to him vaguely.

"How long have you been a…dog?"

She said it as if she still couldn't quite believe it, even though she had seen him transform before her very eyes. For some reason, he found her skepticism amusing, and his mouth quirked into a wry grin as he looked back at her.

"Last summer is when we were able to shift without any problems," he said. "We first toyed with the idea starting our second year, but it wasn't until our third that we began trying in earnest."

"Oh," was all she said before falling silent once more.

They did not speak again until they had reached the Gryffindor common room, and it took Sirius several tries to awaken the Fat Lady, whose snores had been echoing down the corridor.

"Sirius Black," she said groggily when she finally woke. "I should've known. Password?"

"Virtus vero," he said, tossing her a wink for good measure, but the Fat Lady simply rolled her eyes and fell back asleep after opening her portrait.

Cassie dropped his hand as soon as they entered the dim common room, and he tried not to feel disappointed, instead watching as she rounded one of the sofas and sat down, curling her feet beneath her and staring into the dully glowing embers in the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Waiting for Remus," she replied, her voice hollow. "I need to explain everything that happened tonight, and that I – that I don't…hate him."

Her voice broke on the last part, and Sirius sighed. He knew it was a lost cause to try and get her to go to bed, but there was no way she would be able to wait up for Remus.

"He goes to the hospital wing when it's over," he said. When she looked to him, eyes wide, he grimaced, saying hastily, "Madam Pomfrey knows. That's how she's able to take care of him."

"Then I'll go to the hospital wing," she said, getting up, but Sirius shook his head.

"You need to sleep, Cassie," he said. "You look dead on your feet."

"Thanks," she said drily, "but there's beds in the hospital wing."

Sirius sighed again, scrubbing his hands through his hair. "That's not a good idea, Cass."

She whirled on him, suddenly angry.

"And why not?" she demanded. "Remus is my friend! And I want to keep things that way!"

"And you will," he said, feeling his own frustration rise to the surface—he had never liked being yelled at. "But he's going to be exhausted, Cassie, and in a lot of pain. Having you pounce on him first thing after he's gone through all that is not going to be pretty, trust me."

She still looked angry, but Sirius was relieved when she backed down, his logic apparently having made sense to her.

"Fine," she said dully. "I'll wait."

"C'mon," Sirius said, making his voice gentler. "Let's get you up to bed."

He followed her to the girls' staircases, but she hesitated on the first step, slowly turning back to face him. He watched her curiously as she seemed to be struggling to say something, before she blurted out, "Can I stay with you?"

Sirius blinked. "What?"

He noticed her cheeks flare red even in the dim light of the common room, and he bit back a smirk at the sight as she repeated carefully, "Can I stay with you?"

When he said nothing, her face got redder, and she began to stammer. "It's just—I want to see Remus and talk to him, and having you there would probably help—and after everything tonight, you know, I just don't want to be alone—and I know Lily and everyone will be up there, but I don't want to wake them or worry them more—"

"You're cute when you're flustered," Sirius said, interrupting her rambling, and her mouth snapped shut instantly. He grinned.

"Never mind," she grumbled. "I'll just go up—"

"I didn't say you couldn't stay with me," he said, grasping her wrist, and she turned to face him again, perturbed.

"Well if you're just going to embarrass me then what's the point?" she said, and he chuckled, gently tugging her back down the stairs.

"No more embarrassment from me, I swear," he said.

She gave him a measured look that he couldn't decipher before she finally nodded. "All right, then. Lead on."

They trudged up the boys' staircase, Sirius acutely aware of the witch at his back and trying not to let his quickening heartrate get the best of him. There was no reason to be nervous, he reminded himself. It was just Cassie, and they had slept in the same room together before.

Things have changed, a small voice whispered in his head. You know that.

And he did. His feelings for Cassie had been plaguing him for weeks, grown even more pronounced after her confession that she had been willing to meet him at the Astronomy Tower on Valentine's. Some part of her wanted him, and the thought made him feel like some bumbling, blushing schoolboy, with his heart hammering in his ribcage as they ascended the stairs and came to the Marauders' dormitory.

He let them in and went over to his trunk, flipping it open and rummaging inside while Cassie stood awkwardly behind him, looking around the room and studying it as if she hadn't been there several times before.

"Here," Sirius said, extracting a hopefully clean shirt from his trunk and tossing it to her.

She caught it and gave him a strange look. "What's this for?"

"You didn't plan on sleeping in that, did you?" he asked, raising a pointed brow at her dirt-stained jeans and dusty sweater. "Ah, and here's some pants."

He handed her a set of pajama pants to go with the shirt, and he chuckled at the vague look of discomfort on her face.

"Thanks," she said, her tone making it sound like more of a question, but she went into the lavatory and shut the door behind her anyway.

Sirius grinned to himself, quickly shedding his own dirty clothes and throwing on a pair of sweatpants, opting out of a shirt. The excitement of the night and the adrenaline currently coursing through his body was making his skin warm, and he didn't feel like sweating all night. He grabbed a Gryffindor blanket and pillow off his bed and began to set up camp on the floor, plopping himself down just as Cassie emerged from the lavatory.

"Er…" She paused on the threshold, and he would have smirked when her eyes flicked down to see his bare chest, her face flushing red, except he was doing much of the same thing when he saw her bare legs coming out from the bottom of his shirt, the material stopping at her upper thighs.

"The pants didn't fit," she said, waving them in her hand while her other clutched her own clothes.

"They were from second year," he said, clearing his throat and forcing himself to meet her eyes. "I thought they would, sorry."

She grinned nervously at him. "Perhaps I'm as skinny as a twelve-year-old, but I'm much taller than one, Sirius," she said, and he laughed.

She skirted around his bed, putting the clothes on top of his trunk before settling herself behind the curtains on the bedposts, drawing the covers up to her chin.

"Thought you weren't tired?" he asked her teasingly, and she shot him a dry look.

"I'm exhausted, actually," she said. "Finding out one of your best friends is a werewolf does have a certain shocking affect to your system, mind you."

Sirius pointed to himself. "Been there, done that, remember?"

She smirked, nestling herself deeper into the covers, and Sirius had to bat the unbidden image of her wearing nothing but his shirt away before things could get any more awkward for him. He laid down, putting a hand behind his head and ignoring the hard floor pressing into his back, staring up at the ceiling and trying not to think of the complicated day they had ahead of them. Silence settled over the room like a heavy cloak, and he was about to close his eyes when suddenly a pillow soared through the air and hit him in the face.

"Cassie, what in the bloody hell—" he said, sitting up and glaring at the witch in his bed. She looked down at him from where she was propped on her elbows, her hair falling into her face, her dark eyes bright in the gloom and her painfully attractive features making his heart fumble a bit in his chest. "What are you doing?"

"Settling this once and for all," she said haughtily, and Sirius realized that her pure-blood side was coming out as her chin lifted and her lips curled slightly. "Look, we both know we fancy each other at this point, and I don't like beating around the bush, so let's get to it: What are we going to do about our situation?"

Sirius swallowed, his mouth suddenly too dry. "I…I dunno," he said, wincing when his voice came out raspy. She raised an imperious brow. "I honestly didn't think I'd get this far."

"What do you want from me, Sirius?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he said, confused, and now a small frown marred her otherwise perfect face.

"Do you want to shag me, or is there something more?" Her cheeks turned pink as she said this, and Sirius blinked, pondering.

"I'm not sure," he said. He leaned back on his elbows, thoughtful, not missing the way her gaze lingered on his abdominal muscles. He grinned. "Right now, all I know is that I want you, whatever that entails." He shrugged. "As I said, I didn't think I'd get this far."

"I'm worried, Sirius," she admitted, elaborating upon his wondering look. "I don't want this to end badly. You're one of my best friends, despite the feelings I have for you." She frowned, her brows furrowing. "I just don't want our friendship to suffer if something happens between us."

Sirius found himself frowning as well, waiting until she looked at him again to speak.

"We'll never know unless we try," he said quietly. "I don't want to mess things up, either, Cass, but…" He drew in a deep breath. "You're the first person who's ever understood me outside of the blokes. We've both been through things that other people haven't, and whatever we have between us just works. I think we'd regret it more if we didn't try than if things ended badly."

She nodded, looking relieved, her eyes earnest and sure.

"Then we'll try," she said, and Sirius nodded, grinning even if his insides were jumping around excitedly. Her smile turned mischievous, and he gave her a wary look.

"We're going to do things proper, though," she said. "Court me like the proper pure-blood you are."

Sirius groaned, flopping his head back on the pillow as she snickered. "Don't torture me like this, Princess. I've spent my whole life running away from all that nonsense." She laughed again, and the sound made his soul sing. "But if you insist…"

"Come to Hogsmeade with me," she said suddenly, cutting him off. "We'll make it a date."

"Aren't you going with Aubrey?" he asked, but she waved him off.

"I never said yes to him," she said, shrugging. "Besides, he's a nice guy, but more friendship material than anything."

Sirius tried not to let his joy at this statement show, smirking when she bit her lip nervously.

"I will accept your invitation to Hogsmeade, Cassiopeia Alderfair," he said, "so long as you do not drag me anywhere near Madam Puddifoot's."

She smirked at him, and he had to marvel for a second at the expression before she said, "You have a deal, Sirius Black."

And with that, she drew the curtains around herself and left Sirius alone in the dark to fantasize about dark eyes and bright smiles.

That night, Cassie found herself at a funeral.

She'd only ever been to one in her life, when she was nine years old and her Grandmother Opal had passed on, but the scene was much the same: witches and wizards drifted about, ghostly and ethereal in their white robes, the atmosphere somber and subdued. As Cassie stood on the edges of the crowd, her eyes fastened on a raised dais in the center of the high-ceilinged room, where a marble tomb lay open with a body inside.

Drawn by curiosity, she approached the dais, passing through the fray of people unseen, as this was, after all, her dream. She climbed the few steps leading to the tomb, coming to the side and gazing down at the body lying within, uttering an audible gasp at what she saw.

She was looking down at Godric Gryffindor. His golden hair fanned around his head, offering the illusion of a lion's mane, and his skin was pallid and bloodless. Twin stones lay over his eyes, painted with brown eyes that must have resembled his own. He was dressed in scarlet robes made of velvet, with a red and gold shroud beneath him—presumably what they would wrap the body in once the viewing was over. A glittering iron sword encrusted with rubies lay on his breast, clasped in his pale hands.

"They'll have to remove the sword before he's buried," a woman's voice said, and Cassie looked up, seeing a dark-haired witch several years older than herself standing across from her, gazing at Gryffindor's body. She was unfamiliar, but the witch who came to stand beside her was like if Cassie had been gazing into a mirror as Miranda Alderfair approached the tomb.

It was still eerie to Cassie, seeing Miranda and how much they looked alike, but in that moment, Cassie realized that despite their similarities, she could never look the way Miranda did now. The grief on her face was something Cassie hoped never to experience: a deep, aching sorrow for something far out of her reach.

"He wished it to go back to Hogwarts," the other woman beside Miranda continued. "Mother told me."

"Your mother is right," Miranda said, and Cassie's heart twisted at the raw pain in her tone. "We'll have to wait until the ceremony is over, though. There are still people wishing to see him one last time."

The other woman reached out and put a comforting hand on Miranda's shoulder. "He was loved, Miranda. Let that be a comfort to you."

"But he wasn't," Miranda said, her voice hollow and her eyes fixed on Gryffindor's frozen face, the stones over his eyes. "Not by everyone."

Her gaze drifted out over the crowd, and Cassie followed it, her eyes latching onto a sallow, thin-faced man with a pointed black beard and short black hair streaked with silver. His very countenance made Cassie shiver just looking at him, and she glanced away quickly, looking back to Miranda and her companion.

The other woman snorted. "He doesn't love anyone, you know that. All he cares about is blood purity and his wicked treasures."

"He's loved one," Miranda said coldly, and the other woman shrugged.

"You rejected his advances a long time ago," she pointed out. "It's about time he moved on and bed one of those simpering pure-blood whores always flocking around him—"

"Helena!" Miranda said reproachfully, whirling on the other woman with wide eyes. "Keep your voice down! He might hear you!"

"Let him," said Helena, and Cassie had to bite back a grin at the other woman's flippant tone; her attitude, oddly, reminded her of Sirius. "He does not scare me. Mother could take him in a duel anyway. She's much smarter than that snake."

"I don't doubt it," Miranda said quietly, her eyes flicking nervously over the crowd. "But Salazar is cunning and powerful." Cassie blinked at the familiar name; Salazar, as in Salazar Slytherin? Miranda's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and her voice wavered as it came out. "I told Godric to be more careful, to stop being so arrogant, but he insisted I was just overly-cautious. And look where that got him."

She gestured to the body in the tomb, and Helena shifted uncomfortably.

"You still think Salazar killed him, then?" she asked in a hushed whisper, and Miranda scowled.

"I know he did," she said angrily. "I was there that night in the Forest. I ran, like Godric told me to, but I still got a glimpse of the creature that killed him: a giant serpent, with scales black as night and eyes like glowing lanterns." Her hands clenched on the edges of the tomb, turning her knuckles white. "Salazar's sigil is a serpent—he even speaks Parseltongue! It was him. I am sure of it."

"But you have no proof," Helena said. "And even if you did, you were not supposed to be there that night, remember? That would lead to all kinds of questions, including…"

She looked pointedly to Miranda's stomach, where Cassie now saw the tiniest of bumps beneath the folds of her robes, and Miranda put a hand to the bump defensively.

"Which is why I have not told anyone," she said. "Godric's seed grows inside me, and that is my only priority now. I would die before endangering our child."

Helena smiled sadly. "He loved you, Miranda. More than anything."

Miranda looked back to Gryffindor's body. A single tear dropped from her eye, landing on his velvet robes and soaking through the fabric.

"I know," she whispered, so quietly that Cassie barely caught it.

"Oh, no," Helena suddenly groaned. "That bloody baron is coming over. I'll come find you after I'm done hiding."

She kissed Miranda on the cheek before swiftly departing, disappearing into the crowd of white and leaving Miranda alone at the tomb with Cassie. Her ancestor stroked her finger lightly down Gryffindor's cheek, her eyes filled with such tender love and bare grief that Cassie found herself blinking back tears.

"I will always love you," Miranda said to the lifeless body. "In this life and the next. I swear I will find you."

"It must be hard, Lady Alderfair."

Both Cassie and Miranda jumped, turning to see the man Miranda had called Salazar approaching them, a sympathetic smile on his face that was so poisonous and false it made Cassie feel unsettled, even when faced with another of the original Four Founders of her school.

"Your loss, that is," he continued, coming to stand by Miranda's shoulder and gazing at her intently. "I know Godric was a beloved mentor to you."

"He was," Miranda said, adopting an air of cool indifference. "I will carry his lessons with me for the rest of my life."

"Indeed," Salazar said, looking thoughtfully down to Gryffindor's body. "A great wizard and an even better man, Godric was. I will miss him terribly." His bland tone made Cassie think otherwise, but he pressed on, turning that false smile on Miranda again. "And the High Council still does not know what killed him?"

Miranda stiffened, but she kept her voice even as she said, "Naught a clue."

"Ah, well," Salazar said, shrugging. "Many foul creatures run amok in the Thief's Forest; any one of them could have killed him." The wizard waved his hand and a goblet of wine appeared. He took a long drink while Miranda stood, gazing out to the crowd imperiously, and Cassie shuddered, her expression mirroring exactly that of her father's.

"The students have coined a new name for the forest now that they are prohibited from going near it: the Forbidden Forest," he continued. "The brightest minds of our generation, and they come up with Forbidden." He snorted, taking another drink. "Ever since we began taking in half-bloods and Mudbloods the students just keep getting duller and duller—"

"That will do, Salazar," Miranda said coldly, and the elder wizard paused, a flicker of anger pulsing behind his eyes before it was gone, and he smiled poisonously again.

"Forgive me, Lady Alderfair," he said smoothly. "I forget that you are a champion for those with lesser blood, like your mentor before you." He nodded to Gryffindor, and Cassie saw her ancestor's jaw tighten.

"You would do well to remember," she said, and Salazar bowed his head.

"Of course, my Lady," he said. He made to turn away, but stopped and faced her once more. "You know, I haven't seen you wearing your locket lately." Miranda whirled on him, and he gave her a knowing smile, tapping a locket on his chest with a finger. "The nobles have made a fashion of them, as you well know. Did you lose yours?"

"Perhaps," Miranda said evenly, but Cassie could tell she was rattled. Salazar noticed too, and his smile widened victoriously. "But I have confidence it will turn up eventually."

"I hope so," Salazar said, giving her one last sickly smile before whisking away.

Miranda turned back to the tomb, but Cassie flinched away when her ancestor's eyes locked onto her own, boring into her with such intensity that she realized Miranda knew she was there.

"You're getting closer, my dear," she said to her, and Cassie shivered as her dark eyes pierced her flesh like arrows. "All the answers you need are within your grasp—take them."

Cassie awoke in a cold sweat, thrashing around in her sheets for a moment until she realized she was far away from her ancestor and that funeral, safe in Sirius's bed at Hogwarts. She untangled herself from the damp covers, pushing her sweaty hair off her brow and calming her breathing, feeling as if she had just run a marathon. Miranda's last words still echoed in her head, bouncing around her skull, but she focused on the dark canopy above her, willing her heart to return to its normal beat.

As she lay there in the darkness, listening to Sirius's slow breaths, she realized that this was the first dream she'd had that Miranda spoke directly to her. All her past dreams had been glimpses into memories, but this time Miranda had seen her, had spoken to her.

"All the answers you need are within your grasp—take them."

If this was the proof Cassie needed to convince herself that solving the mystery with the locket was the right thing to do, then she would gladly take it. Miranda had always meant for her to find out, she knew that know—no one else but her.

But what was she was going to do with the gauntlet once she found it? Destroy it? How?

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, she told herself firmly. Otherwise you're going to obsess over it and lose what little sleep you're already getting.

She rolled on her side, her eyes picking out Sirius in the gloom as he slept on, unaware of hew new revelations. She sighed, her cheeks prickling as she recalled their earlier conversation. The prospect of plunging into deeper waters with him frightened her a little bit, but he was right; they would never know their potential if they didn't try. She suddenly thought about everyone's reactions to the news that she and Sirius were getting together, and immediately cringed. She was sure to receive smug looks and many an eyebrow-waggle from the girls, and she grimaced as she imagined James getting up on the table at dinner and announcing it to the entire Great Hall—if he had even forgiven her.

Sirius had made it clear that night that he was still on her side (angry, but still), but James would be the real challenge. After all, it was to him specifically that she had promised not to keep secrets from, and she had broken that promise. She could only hope that he would forgive her, along with Peter and Remus, but after the events that had transpired that night, her hope was withering further and further.

She had been stupid and reckless following them into the tunnel, and the guilt of it was eating her alive, especially after seeing the look on Remus's face… Talking to him would be hard, this she had no doubt, but she had to make him see that she would still be his friend, no matter what. She would always be his friend.

Go back to sleep, her brain urged her tiredly. You're not going to convince anyone of anything unless you get some rest.

Shut up, she told the logical half of her brain, but she was already fading into sleep once more.

Cassie and Sirius awoke at the crack of dawn, moving quickly but silently in the early hours as they prepared to head for the hospital wing. Cassie snuck back to her own dormitory for fresh clothes and a chance to make herself look presentable, tossing Sirius's shirt into her trunk and hoping he wouldn't miss it, for it was quite comfortable.

It was a quarter past six when she met him back in the common room, and he winked at her encouragingly before they set off, out of the portrait hole and through the long corridors until they had reached the large double doors that barred the hospital wing.

Sirius entered confidently with Cassie trailing behind him anxiously, apprehensive of what was yet to come, but they were stopped almost immediately by Madam Pomfrey.

"Mr. Black," she said curtly, "why on earth have you brought Miss Alderfair with you?"

The matron eyed Cassie suspiciously, but before she could explain herself, Sirius had already answered.

"She knows, ma'am," he said. "And I would trust her with my life. She won't tell anyone," he added firmly as Madam Pomfrey opened her mouth. She seemed to weigh Sirius's words, however, and after a moment she nodded tightly.

"Very well," she said briskly. "Keep it brief. Mr. Lupin needs all the rest he can get."

Cassie and Sirius nodded, forging ahead as the matron went back to her office until they came to the farthest bed in the long room, with Peter and James taking residence in the two chairs propped on either side of Remus, who lay motionless in the cot.

Cassie's heart clenched once she saw Remus, her mind flashing back to the lifeless body of Godric Gryffindor in her dream, but the steady rising and falling of his chest reminded her that he was alive.

"Padfoot," James greeted sleepily as they approached. He adjusted his glasses and looked to Cassie for a long moment, before finally nodding and saying, "Cassie."

"Hey," she said quietly, trying for a warm smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Er, how's he doing?"

"Fine," James said, standing up from the chair and popping his neck, the sound like firecrackers in the silent room. "Exhausted. The transformations really take a toll on him." He looked to Sirius. "How much did you tell her?"

"Not a lot," he said, shrugging. "I figured I'd let Remus explain what he wants to her." James nodded, and Sirius suddenly grinned smugly. "She knows about our forms, by the way."

James's eyes widened, and Peter squeaked, scrambling from his seat to stand along with James, who looked back and forth between Sirius and Cassie incredulously.

"You know?" he demanded of her, and she nodded.

"Yes," she said. "He showed me last night. Why didn't you tell me you were Animagi—?"

"SHH!" All three boys shushed her in unison, glancing apprehensively toward Madam Pomfrey's office, but her door was closed.

"Keep your voice down!" Peter said shrilly. "No one can know!"

"Why not?" she asked, and James sighed, mussing up his already wild hair.

"Because we're unregistered," he said lowly, and Cassie's mouth dropped into an 'o' shape.

"That's so illegal," she said, half-shocked, half-impressed.

"Obviously," Sirius said, rolling his eyes, but he winked when she shot him a glare.

"We did it to help Remus," James said, and Cassie raised her brows at the silent challenge in his gaze.

"And I respect that," she said, rising to the challenge with grace. "You've all been very good to him. He's lucky to have friends like you."

"So are you," James said. She looked to him questioningly, and he scowled. "I was a prat to you after Valentine's, and for that, I'm sorry."

"I kept you in the dark when I shouldn't have," Cassie said. "You had every right to be angry with me. I promised you no more secrets."

"You did," he said, nodding. "But as much as it annoys me to admit it, you did it for us, to keep us safe, and I can't stay mad at you for that."

She snorted. "When did you finally come to that realization?"

James smirked. "After you almost got your ass eaten by a werewolf."

"Shut up, Potter."

"You know you love me, Alderfair."

"Unfortunately," she muttered, and held out her arms when he laughed. "C'mere."

James stepped forward and hugged her, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head before turning to the others and saying, "Get in here. Group hug."

Peter nearly tripped over his feet in his haste to be included, throwing his arms around Cassie and James awkwardly, the varying height differences a challenge, while Sirius joined them more smoothly, ruffling James and Peter's hair and throwing Cassie one of his dazzling grins that made her blush and hide her face in James's jumper.

"Thanks for including me in the family reunion," Remus said drily from behind them, and they broke apart to see the other Marauder pushing himself into a seating position and grinning faintly.

"Moony!" James said happily, moving to his bedside while the others followed. "You know we would never leave out our favorite brother. We can hug you too if you want."

"I'm good, thanks," he said, reaching for the glass of water on his bedside table and draining it in one long gulp. He set it down and sat up more, wincing, his eyes finding Cassie as he adjusted himself into a better position.

The air between them thickened, and James cottoned on quickly, glancing between them and saying, "Pete, let's go change."

Peter nodded quickly, and the two boys departed the hospital wing. Remus looked to Sirius pointedly. Sirius looked to Cassie.

"Do you want me here?" he asked her, and she hesitated, glancing between the two boys before shaking her head.

"I'll be fine," she said, and he nodded once, squeezing her elbow gently before following James and Peter.

Neither Cassie nor Remus spoke until the large doors had shut. Cassie took one of the vacated chairs next to his cot and folded her arms closer to herself, waiting for him to speak.

"New development?" he asked after several minutes of silence, gesturing to the doors Sirius had just gone through, and she shrugged.

"Of sorts," she admitted. "I don't think either of us knows where it's going, but it's going."

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Good. I'm happy for you two. Merlin knows he'd been going mad trying to figure out how you felt about him." He shook his head. "Sirius has always played the part of the heartbreaker, but we all knew he was a hopeless romantic deep down. Did you know he was the one who got you those irises for Valentine's?"

"I had my suspicions," she said, and he grinned faintly, though his expression was pained.

Seeing him up close, Cassie realized how terrible he looked, his eyes bruised and shadowed, his skin pale and clammy. He looked exhausted, more than anything, but she could tell he was in pain just by the stubborn set of his jaw. "How are you feeling, Remus?"

"Like crap," he admitted, falling back on his pillows and sighing. "Madam Pomfrey gives me potions for the pain and the fatigue, but it's still a toll."

"I didn't know," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry, Remus. I've been such a terrible friend—"

"Don't, Cassie," he said tiredly. "It's not your fault."

"I didn't even notice," she said, shaking her head. "I considered you one of my closest friends, and I still never bothered to pay attention."

"You knew," he said. He grimaced. "Deep down, you knew. I could tell by the look in your eyes when you saw me last night—like you didn't want to believe it. Like you just didn't want to admit the truth to yourself."

"I'm not afraid of you," she said, "and I don't hate you for it, Remus. You can't control it, and it's a part of who you are—"

He laughed bitterly, cutting her off. "Of course it's a part of me," he said angrily, but the anger was directed more at himself than her. "I feel him every day—the wolf; Moony; whatever you want to call him. He's always there, waiting for the next full moon. I can never get rid of him."

"You can't help it," she said softly.

"No, I can't." He inhaled deeply, looking to the ceiling high above them. "I was nearly five years old when I was bitten. My father had encountered a werewolf before—Fenrir Greyback."

Cassie winced at the name. She'd heard her father rant about the "half-breed, mongrel mutt" that was Fenrir Greyback since she was a child. The Ministry had arrested him before on suspicion of the murder of two Muggle children, and though he had faced trial by the Wizengamot, he'd managed to slip away at the last second. Her father loathed him, and hearing his name sent a spike of dread through her as Remus went on, unaware of her reaction.

"My father insulted him, said that werewolves were 'soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death.'" A muscle in his jaw twitched as Cassie sat, listening in horror. "Greyback retaliated against my father for his words. He forced open my window on the night of a full moon and attacked me." He sucked in a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. "My father fought him off with curses, but it was too late—he had bitten me. I was infected with lycanthropy.

"My parents were distraught. My mum's a Muggle, and she'd been horrified. My father blamed himself for my affliction. They tried everything, saw every specialist they could, but there was no cure. I was a werewolf, and nothing could change that."

His hands fisted in the bedcovers, his eyes too bright, but he refused to look at Cassie.

"I hadn't been allowed to go to Muggle primary school. My parents were too afraid of what might happen, and besides, we had to keep moving around anyway, so on one would figure out what I was. I had no friends, no life… I'd grown up on stories of Hogwarts from my father, but I'd had to accept that I was never going to be able to go. Not until Dumbledore showed up.

"He offered me a place here, said special accommodations could be made for me. My parents were reluctant at first, but they trusted Dumbledore, and I wanted to go. So I came."

"They planted the Whomping Willow the year we came here," Cassie recalled. "It was for you, so you could use the tunnel to go into the Shrieking Shack and transform."

Remus nodded. "Dumbledore encouraged the rumors that the building was haunted so no one would go near it—the howls and screams at night the villagers heard was me. My transformations had been terrible back then—still are, but more so then than now. Since I was trapped in the shack, I had nothing to bite or scratch, except for the furniture, or myself."

He rolled up the sleeve of his pajama shirt to reveal a long white scar on his forearm, and Cassie's eyes brimmed with tears.

"I kept it a secret from everyone—said my mum was ill and that I had to go back and take care of her, which explained my monthly absences. It worked, for a while, until James, Sirius, and Peter came along.

"They were my first friends at Hogwarts—in my life. They were like brothers to me, and I was terrified that if they found out who I was, they would shun me, so I didn't tell them." He sighed. "Of course, they figured it out anyway. Damn James and Sirius—they're far too smart for their own good. I was ready to pack my bags and leave that night once word got out that a werewolf was a student, but they didn't tell anyone. And miraculously, they decided to help me.

"James came up with the Animagus idea first. They began researching it almost obsessively. Professor McGonagall was suspicious, but they covered their tracks well." He smiled fondly, the expression a welcome change on his dour face. "This past summer, they got it down, and for this whole year they've been helping me—keeping me in line, providing companionship, exploring the grounds with me—it's safe, don't worry," he said hastily to her alarmed look. "That's why they're there, to keep me in check."

He sighed again, scrubbing his hands over his face. "I worried about telling you for the longest time," he admitted. "The others encouraged me to do it, said you would be fine with it, but a part of me is always terrified. You know how society treats werewolves—they're loathed. I couldn't bear it if you had turned on me knowing what I was, but I also would've accepted if you had hated me."

"I would never hate you for such a thing," she said tearfully, and she realized to her embarrassment that she had been crying silently the whole time he'd talked. "You're one of my best friends, Remus.I-I love you, and nothing is ever going to change that."

He finally turned and faced her, his eyes red-rimmed and desperate. "I love you too, Cassie, but I understand entirely if you don't want to be friends anymore—"

"Don't say that," she snapped. "You're my friend, and no amount of self-deprecation is ever going to change that, so just—shut up!"

"You and Sirius really are perfect for each other," he quipped. "He said almost exactly the same thing to me when he found out."

"We both have good taste in friends," she said drily, and he cracked a grin. "You will always be my friend," she continued. "Sorry to say it, Remus, but you can't get rid of me now."

"And it's that thought that terrifies me," he said, and she smirked triumphantly before reaching out for his hand.

He placed it in her own with only the smallest of hesitations, and she clasped it tightly. They sat in silence as they held hands, a reminder that they would never let go of each other. Eventually, though, she had to break the silence.

"Hey, Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever get fleas?"

She laughed when he groaned, flopping his head back onto his pillows. He began to chuckle as well, before they were both laughing loudly, unable to stop, the sound ringing like bells throughout the room.

It was only when Madam Pomfrey threw open her door with a cry of, "Out, Miss Alderfair, OUT! Mr. Lupin needs his rest!" that they stopped, and Cassie was thereby banned from the hospital wing for disturbing the matron's patients.

Still, Cassie was unable to keep from smiling for the rest of the day.

Next Chapter: The Turning Point

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