Chapter 48 – In Hiding

OoO

The four of them searched the castle until late at night. When they arrived in the tower, their hearts sunk when she wasn't there either. Lily decided to stay in the girls' dorm in case she came back, but she didn't nor did Sirius. The next morning, they rushed down to the great hall, but she wasn't there. Sirius his eyes were bloodshed as he stared in front of him with a vacant expression.

"Reg!" Remus breathed as his boyfriend appeared in front of them. "Please, tell me she was with you."

"No." His voice trembled, and he wrapped his arms around him.

"Reg, people will see." Remus said shocked as he stood stiffly in his arms.

"I don't care. You need me." He nuzzled his face in his neck and Remus wrapped his arms around him. "I wanted to ask you out to Hogsmeade, for an official, public first date. I love you, Remus. And I'm done hiding it."

"Reg-" But Regulus pulled back and kissed him slow and soft. Whispers began to fill their ears. Since they were standing in front of the great hall, everyone saw the display of love. "I love you too." Remus said once they pulled back. He was beaming and Regulus couldn't help but mimic his expression. Then they remembered what happened the previous night, and their faces fell.

"James, the map." Remus whispered.

"I thought -" Remus took him by the arm and dragged him to an alcove and the others followed. "I thought we couldn't find her on the map." He said once they were hidden.

"You can't but I have spell." He said already taking the map out of James's hand. The folded the map open as far as they could, and their eyes scanned the map.

"Where are you, little charmer?" James muttered.

A few minutes later, Remus tucked the map away. "She isn't in the castle."

"Maybe she went to Hogsmeade?" Lily suggested with a frown.

"Let's go." Remus said already out of the alcove. "Black." He seethed when Sirius stood in front of him. He must've saw them disappear in the alcove and was waiting for them.

"Where's Izzie?"

"Good question!" He snapped, Regulus came to stand next to him and intertwined their fingers. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you." He said before he walked away from him, tugging Regulus with him.

Sirius looked with pleading eyes to James. "We don't know where she is, we've searched the castle, she isn't here." He said before following Remus and Regulus.

"She planned out a whole day for today, did you know that?" Lily asked. "You didn't ask her to go to Hogsmeade, so she thought you didn't want to spend Valentine's Day with her doing all girly stuff. So, she planned to do all your favourites including flying" She shook her head, stepping away from him. "I still can't believe you accused her of using a love potion on you."

"I can't either..." He whispered as he saw her walk away.

OoO

They searched Hogsmeade until it got dark. They asked the shop owners, they asked Madam Rosmerta if she spotted her but none of them saw her since the last time, she came to Hogsmeade. They were ready to leave the little village when Regulus stopped, looking at an alley between two small houses.

"Isabelle?" He called out when he saw a head of caramel hair. The girl didn't turn around, she took the offered hand of an unknown man before they apparated out of the village. "I swear it was her." He turned to the others.

"It was." Remus confirmed, sniffing the air around them. "I don't know who the other was though. A man, but other than that."

"You don't think..." James frowned.

"She wouldn't." The others said shaking their heads.

"How hurt or angry she is with Sirius, she wouldn't cheat on him." Remus said as they started walking again.

"Do you think she'll break up with him?"

"Honestly, Prongs? I have no idea." Remus said, his hand going through his hair. "When he asked her that... it made it seem like he didn't trust her. I don't know if she'll stay in a relationship if she thinks he doesn't trust her."

"I know how it sounded -" James said nervously. "But I don't think Sirius doesn't trust her. After everything, how is that even a thought? I just think the information about how many times the potions were used on him, it messed him up a bit and he spoke before he could progress it."

"He should've kept his mouth shut." Lily grunted. "He may have lost the best thing in his life because of that stupid mouth."

"I just hope she's okay." Regulus whispered and Remus wrapped an arm around him, kissing his temple. "She looked so hurt, so broken when -" He sighed. "She doesn't answer any of our messages." Regulus was so worried about Izzie, and feeling the warmth of Remus against him, he didn't see his classmates stare at them and whisper.

"Maybe we should ask Sirius to write in the book."

"First of all, if she doesn't answer to any of us, she won't write him back. And secondly, after what happened at Christmas, the spell on the book broke. The pages are still black. But since they saw each other every day, she hasn't made a new one." Remus said, his fingers rubbing circles on his upper arm.

"She'll just want time alone, I expect. If she isn't here when classes start, we'll go to Professor McGonagall." Lily said, although her voice was stressed.

So, they checked the map every half hour, hoping to see her name appear on the piece of parchment but nothing. The only thing they saw was Sirius in the Astronomy tower or going to the private chambers of Izzie and Regulus.

Sunday morning there was still no sign of her. Sirius had joined them at the breakfast table but didn't say anything, his eyes red from lack of sleep. But none of them spoke really. Regulus had joined them at the Gryffindor table and was leaning slightly against Remus. They ignored the whispers around them, both too worried about Izzie to think about it. From the Slytherin table, Evan and Barty looked surprised when Remus pressed a kiss against his temple but then grinned proudly. They were all picking at the food on their plates when a fire message appeared. Remus plucked it out of the air and read it out loud, but quiet enough so only their group could hear.

"I'm okay. I will be back for classes. Don't search for me, I'm busy. Izzie."

The others all looked at each other at the last part. What was she doing with that man? Sirius looked hopeful for a moment until the letter didn't reveal much. With a crestfallen face, he wrote a short note and send it on its way as he pushed himself up from the table. The others saw him walk away from them, just when he reached the door, a fire message appeared in front of him. Sirius plucked it from the air, his eyes scanning it before he crumbled it into a ball. Then he turned and punched the door so hard, they could hear his bones crack.

"Shit." James cursed. "I'll go." He said, he kissed Lily on the cheek before going over to Sirius. When he reached his best friend, he saw him trembling. "Let's go to Pomfrey."

"I'm fine." He snapped.

"Sirius, I could hear it break from where I was sitting. Now, let's go." He dragged him through the hall by his elbow, but he didn't resist. They walked in silence and after Pomfrey fixed his hand in a whip, James finally spoke up again. "What did she write?"

"To leave her alone." Before James could answer, Sirius turned to him. He looked broken and devasted. "I can't lose her, James. I can't! I've lost her more than once; I can't do it again. She's- she's-"

"I know." He patted his back. "You don't have to tell me, I know." They walked through the corridor, heading up the stairs. "Talk to her when she gets back, leave her be for now. When she gets back tonight, try talk to her. She loves you, Sirius."

"Maybe I screwed up too many times."

"I don't think so but Sirius... do you trust her?"

"I trust her with my life."

"Then why-"

"I don't know." He pulled on his hair in frustration. "I was just so angry, and it slipped out. I know she would never do that to me and the moment those words left my lips, I knew it was a mistake because I trust her more than anyone. I don't know how to make it better."

"Just talk to her, tell her how you felt and how you feel. There isn't more you can do, you just have to convince her you do trust her."

"Do you think she'll break up with me?" He asked with a small, trembling voice.

James sighed. "I don't know, Pads. I don't know."

OoO

After breakfast, they went back to the tower, even Regulus joined them, ignoring the glances from the Gryffindors. Remus pulled him between his legs as they sat on the couch, James and Lily sat down in front of the fireplace together while Sirius sat a little further, looking out the window. Nobody did any homework, nor did they talk, they just sat in silence. The other students all looked worried at the group, never known for them to be so silent. None of them saw Peter look at them with a raised eyebrow before he scurried out of the common room, doing whatever he has been doing for the past weeks. They stayed up late, Lily had the best view on the portrait and her eyes barely wavered from the spot. But she didn't come, even when the clock chimed 1 in the morning, she hasn't shown up. When the others all reluctantly went to bed, Sirius tore his eyes away from the window. He jumped off from the windowsill and changed into Padfoot before he started searching the castle.

The next morning, at breakfast she wasn't there. Sirius had downed his second pepper-up potion to try and stay awake as he played with his breakfast. Regulus looked worried at his brother; he has never seen him like this. It was even worse than last year after the girl. Regulus reluctantly left Remus and the others to go to Potions while they went to their Charms class.

Sirius's head snapped up when he heard her voice, her laugh booming from the Charms classroom. The four of them ran to the classroom, charging through the open door. There she was, she was sitting on the pile of books from Flitwick, while he stood next to her. They were silently conversing, both wearing a smile on their faces. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed. She didn't look like she was sad or angry, or that she had been crying. That was at least until she heard the others crash in like a tornado. When her eyes fell on Sirius, her smile dropped and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared. She looked back to the professor with a dulled look.

"Take a seat, please. We will start in a moment." Flitwick waved his hand, gesturing them to sit down before he turned back to Izzie. The others sat down, but their eyes never wavered from them. Sirius saw Professor Flitwick hand her a sealed letter, and the smile appeared again. They were talking so quietly, they couldn't hear what they were saying, maybe Remus did but he didn't make it seem that he could. The class started to fill up quickly, nobody seems surprised to see Izzie sitting with the professor, she was his best and favourite student by far. But they all did look surprised when she walked out of the classroom and closed the door behind her. "Alright, can everyone turn to page 780?"

"Uhm, professor?" Lily's hand went up the air. "Where is Izzie going?"

"Hasn't she told you?" The professor walked closer to the group. "After her nifty spell on Mr Black here, we talked a little this week. And yesterday we met and discussed the remaining spells of this years and the ones she needs to know for her NEWT's. Of course, she knew them all and doesn't make any mistakes producing them. So, she asked if she could drop my class and use that time to study or join the other classes she has trouble with. After discussing it with the other teachers we agreed with her request." He smiled happily and before any could react except for their dumbstruck expressions, he turned to the rest of the class.