So I know that I asked for one review before I'd update but I figure it's been nearly a week and you're all too busy that you only have time to read the chapter and not update. I guess I'll take the reads though.

Chapter 25: Things Begin to Change

Mandy spent the next couple of days thinking over every relationship she had; from James, to Sirius, to Jason, and even Lily and Parker. One thing she realized was how angry and defensive she had come off. She knew that while most of it was to be blamed on the pregnancy, there was a part of her that was more scared than angry at what she was to face once she left Hogwarts. However, Mandy had never been capable of dealing with fear and she typically turned any fear she was facing into anger. She wondered if there was ever a way to get away from that. Unfortunately before she could figure that out it was the 30th of March and that meant only one thing. She was going to be transforming that night. All through the day she worried about James and Sirius showing up to help her through her transformation like they did for Remus. Mandy hadn't been able to bring herself to tell Peter about it though. It wasn't that she necessarily didn't trust the boy; she was just worried about what he would think. Being a were-tiger was exceedingly rare in Britain and most parts of the world aside from Eastern Asia and she didn't want him asking a lot of questions. With her mood lately it was more likely to push her over the edge and she didn't want to ruin the friendly relationship they had. Why she hadn't told him before she had gotten pregnant she didn't know, but it was too late now.

Finally Mandy made up her mind to not allow the boys to come but when she tried to tell them, she could never catch them alone. It was almost like Sirius in particular was avoiding her and James was spending more time with Lily. Mandy finally made her move to get Sirius when he left Charms that Thursday afternoon. He repeated the same moves he had after their morning class, his bag already packed, a confident, large stepped stride out of the room, and purposeful steps down the hall. Mandy too had her bag packed and followed his path as he joined the throng of students in the hallway. "Sirius!" Mandy called. He paused briefly, looking around to see who called his name, as he was tall enough to see over most everyone in the hall, then continued on. Or he would have if Mandy hadn't cast a sticking charm on the only pair of non-moving shoes in the hall. She caught up to him easily now and took his arm before releasing the spell.

"Mandy," Sirius said nervously.

She had been right, he was avoiding her. "Walk with me. You have some explaining to do."

"I know what you want, Mandy," he swallowed thickly as they began moving again.

"Oh, you do?" Mandy asked.

"I love you and I'm willing to take that chance," Sirius told her defiantly. To him love meant standing beside her and having her back and he wasn't going to let her stop him.

"Sirius, she's angry. I can't control her and I don't think—I would be okay with that. You could set her off. I don't want that to happen."

Sirius used the grip Mandy had on his arm to pull her behind a tapestry that hid a passageway to the dungeons. As he looked down at her, the lamps along the passageway flared to life. "She told you this?"

"She's not a voice in my head. It's not like we're two different souls trying to inhabit one body, she's not that complete. Stripes is like the darkest part of my soul. The urgings, the feelings, things I would never do. When I transform, I lose control of all those things. I don't want to hurt you. Please don't come tonight. I can't promise you anything and if you love me the way you say you do, you'll stay away."

"And let you take it out on Prongs or yourself?" Sirius cupped her cheek, stroking it gently. "It's because I love you the way I do that I'll be there. We always told Remus that we knew the risks but we were willing to be there for him anyway. Who knows, maybe Padfoot being there will calm the tiger down. Like you just said, it's the darkest part of your soul. Just because it's dark doesn't mean it's evil, it's just the part you haven't explored, for you that includes love. You know we can handle nearly everything you throw at us. We'll be fine."

"Promise me you'll leave if it gets to be too much. None of this 'we can handle it, we're tough boys.' I want you to promise if it really comes down to it you'll leave."

Sirius looked into her big blue eyes as she stared up at him. As much as he wanted to be there for everything she went through he knew this was important to her. He didn't want to but finally he promised. "Promise," she narrowed her eyes. "I promise if Stripes becomes too much to handle I will leave as to not antagonize her. I can't promise the same for James, but I will leave," Sirius finally agreed.

"Thank you," Mandy said. Though it wasn't what Mandy wanted, she knew that was as close as Sirius would get to it.

When Mandy told James and asked the same thing of him, he balked like Sirius had. "I know that Stripes is a grumpy cat and a natural enemy of the stag, but I can handle it." Seeing Mandy's nervous, sad, and hopeless face, he broke and made the same promise. "If I believe Stripes ever becomes too much for me, I promise I will leave."

"That is not what I asked James."

"I know, but it's the best I can give you. You are my little sister and I love you. Because of that I always want to protect you. I will protect you for as long as I possibly can. That includes whatever that cat tries to throw my way. No matter how tough and scary this gets, I can't let you go through it alone."

"James, you're not my brother, not by blood."

"By blood? Though there is more to being a brother and being family than blood, look at your right wrist. That makes us family by blood." Mandy looked down at her wrist and the JP tattoo over their blood bond scar. James was right. If he was willing, she couldn't stop him.

"Why couldn't Sirius say something like that?"

"Because you would have said he was being stubborn and thick, so he went with something that he knew would get through to you."

"That he loves me?"

"Exactly. Mandy, he really does."

"I know. I love him, too." James stared at her in shock. "Stop that," Mandy said, playfully shoving him. He continued to stare at her. "What?" Mandy asked finally.

"You've never said that before. You really love him? Or are you just saying that?"

"I do love him. I'm starting to see that. I'm worried that even though I do love him, it's not enough or that I may not be able to tell him how I feel."

"At least you can say you love him. I remember there was a time that you couldn't even admit having feelings aside from hatred for him."

"True."

After an early dinner that night in the kitchens Mandy snuck out of the school and into the Whomping Willow. Though the teachers and most staff knew of her condition the students didn't and she didn't want them to see her. Mandy paced the upper floor of the shack waiting for the sun to set which would cause her transformation to start. Just as the last of the golden rays slipped behind the horizon, pain filled every limb of her body and screams tore from her throat. Her nails grew into claws, her fingers shrank, and the fine hair on her arms turned coarser and began growing from every inch of her skin as her skin turned black and white. Then her senses enhanced and her mind was wiped clean which, like always, caused her to pass out. These symptoms happened every time and every time it hurt like the last. When she came to her body and flexed and shifted on its own almost as though trying to grow accustom to the new weight and power.

Suddenly Stripes's senses went on high alert. Her heart beat was no longer the only sound to reach her ears. There were two more heart beats. The tiger took a deep breath and let their scents trail over her. Then she heard the hoof beats and pattering paws. Prongs and Padfoot were there. Mandy could only watch helplessly from her cage locked deep in the tiger's mind, as the tiger crouched low, read to pounce. Mandy never had control of Stripes's actions. She could see what happened but couldn't affect it. Almost like a passenger in a car or a fan at a Quidditch match. The first one through the door was Padfoot and Mandy got a very bad feeling. Something terrible was about to happen and Mandy could only hold on for the ride. Sure enough taunt muscles uncoiled like the crack of a pistol and the tiger flew across the room. She landed with pinpoint accuracy on the big, black dog causing him to drop to the floor like a lead balloon. Stripes pushed herself back up standing over the dog, planting her feet and baring her teeth snarling at the stag that had just lowered its head and the full rack of antlers. Prongs pawed at the ground to charge then the dog barked.

Padfoot had been stunned by the sudden hit but he wasn't hurt. At the moment Stripes also wasn't threatening him so he was willing to let the pounce go and see where it went. Prongs backed down, going as still as he could. He kept his head down looking away from the tiger and trying not to threaten the tiger. Stripes scrutinized the stag, but something strange began to happen. The longer he stood there the more he began to disappear from her sight. Then an ear twitched bringing him back into focus. Stripes blinked and turned her attention back to the dog. She glanced back at where the stag had been standing then stepped over the dog completely and turned around sniffing a full circle around him. Finally Stripes walked back into the room away from the door and plopped down in the middle of the room. Her tailed relaxed and slowly began swishing along the floor. She then lowered her head between her paws and exposed the back of her neck. Padfoot and Prongs shared a look and knew neither could not remember the last time they had seen her so submissive. They shared another look as the tiger whimpered.

Almost as if he could read her mind Padfoot stood and sniffed at the tiger, sidling up beside her. It was almost like he knew that any approach from dead on would be seen as a threat and he didn't want to put her on the defensive. He licked her snout then sat down, his tail thumping against the floor, tongue hanging out of his mouth. He looked like the quintessential happy puppy ready to play. Prongs also slowly entered the room then jumped up on the bed in the corner and laid down watching over the scene as the tiger rolled on her back to play.

They spent most of the night playing in the shack until they ran out of energy and fell asleep on the floor, the tiger's head resting on the dog's back.

When Mandy woke up the next morning there was something soft under her head but it was slowly moving up and down. Confusion set in and she looked around. She wasn't in her dorm and she wasn't in her pajamas. She looked around again and realized that she was in the Shrieking Shack and was back to being human. That didn't explain what was under her head though so she rolled over onto her side and brought her hand up running through coarse fur. Her vision filled with dark fur and she realized she had been using Padfoot as a pillow. He didn't seem to mind as she continued to mindlessly stroke his head and shoulders.

Early morning rays of light filtered through dirty window and Mandy watched the dust dance in the strands of light. Padfoot woke and licked Mandy's face. She let him up and he transformed as Mandy woke Prongs. The three of them crossed lawn, Mandy leaning heavily on Sirius. "Are you sure you don't just want me to carry you?" Sirius asked.

"I think that would hurt more," Mandy answered tiredly.

"So, what was that last night?" James asked.

"What was what?" Mandy asked.

"That whole playful attitude? It was almost as if Padfoot calmed Stripes down," James said.

"Maybe he did," Sirius answered. "Maybe Stripes can admit something Mandy isn't willing to admit. Not that it's a bad thing," he rushed on to keep her from getting angry. "Like you said, Mandy, Stripes is the darkest part of your soul, containing everything you don't want to face. Perhaps she's more open to love than your consciousness is."

"Maybe. I'm so tired. I think I'm going to crash. You know, something weird did happen. It was almost like the longer you stood outside the door the harder it got for me to see you, James."

"Maybe you have bad vision as a tiger. You should look that up," James answered.

"Maybe. Certainly you two have a shortcut to the hospital wing?" Mandy asked, changing the subject.

"Come on. I'll take her. You head to breakfast," Sirius said to James. The other boy nodded and they went their separate ways.

Once they reached the wing, Sirius helped Mandy on to the bed then got the matron. Madame Pomfrey checked her over for broken bones and other serious injuries then asked about her pregnancy checkup. "Miss Hunter it's about time for your next checkup. Would you like me to do it now or would you rather wait until Mr. Black has gone to breakfast?"

Since Sirius had helped Mandy up to the wing, telling the nurse that he had gone for an early morning walk, he was sitting by her side and watching closely. None of the staff that knew about her condition knew that a couple of the students knew.

"Uh—if you can make it quick, he can stay," Mandy answered nervously. She always hated the pregnancy checkups because it meant exposing her baby bump and that reminded Mandy of her pregnancy. Though she had always considered babies gifts, this one reminded her of how careless she and Sirius had been. Pomfrey nodded then ran her wand over Mandy's belly.

"Everything looks good. Have you felt the baby move?" Pomfrey asked.

Mandy looked at the nurse then at Sirius. She didn't know whether to tell the truth or lie to the matron. Lying would make Sirius happy but she knew that movement was also a sign of how things were progressing in her pregnancy. "It's okay," Sirius said squeezing her hand. Mandy looked at him carefully then back at the nurse.

"Twice." Once that day in Hogsmeade and once during her conversation with James before the Quidditch game. "Kinda like a flutter across my stomach."

"Are you a heavy sleeper?"

"For the most part. Typically when I fall asleep I don't wake up for like seven hours or so."

Pomfrey nodded. "It is possible that the baby spends most of its time moving around while you're asleep. I am still concerned though, Miss Hunter."

Mandy took a deep breath knowing that her being concerned was part of her job. The matron was often concerned about Mandy's pregnancy but it usually wasn't a big deal for Mandy. Like how throughout Mandy's previous checkups the matron was concerned about the size of the baby. Mandy figured it had something to do with her tiger blood. If the tiger mutation in her blood was speeding up her pregnancy then there was nothing to worry about. At least not according to the Asian witch she had spoken to.

Sirius on the other hand had a different reaction. "Concerned about what? How can everything look good but you still be concerned?" Sirius snapped. It seemed that he was more upset by this news than Mandy was. Perhaps it was because he hadn't been at the other checkups or because he really cared about her.

"Mr. Black, Miss Hunter has told me that she conceived around the 14th of October. To be certain we measure pregnancy by the—" Madame Pomfrey trailed off not sure how frank he wanted her to be.

"By the first day of my last period," Mandy said. He had heard most of the other frank and crass things she had said so this wouldn't phase him too bad. Sure enough he didn't at all look the slightest bit upset or grossed out by it.

Madame Pomfrey looked at Mandy carefully then looked back at Sirius. "Right. And that was September 29th from what she tells me. September 29th to March 31st is 26 weeks. Right now your baby should be about 35 centimeters. I just double checked and it seems that the baby is approximately 43. That's not too concerning, some babies are born bigger than others. However when I do this," Pomfrey lit the tip of her wand and moved it over Mandy's stomach and suddenly Mandy felt more and more movement across her stomach. Then her wand made a soft beeping noise; a noise even Mandy had to strain to hear with her tiger enhanced senses and the same thing happened. "The baby is reacting to light and sound both. Plus there are other things about your baby's gender that tell me it is further along than it should be."

"You can tell what the baby is already?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Madame Pomfrey answered.

"But you're not going to tell us," Mandy said sternly.

"Why not?" Sirius asked, shocked as he looked from Mandy to Madame Pomfrey and back. Certainly the Matron wouldn't be opposed to telling them the baby's gender. It was their baby after all, even if they were giving it up. It would be nice to know what the baby was going to be.

"Because I know you, Sirius. I know you're unhappy about us giving the baby up and you think if I know what it is I'm gonna wanna keep it, but that's not true. Knowing what it is doesn't change the fact that we're giving him or her up. It shouldn't change it either. It wouldn't be fair to keep the baby because it's one gender rather than the other."

Of course Mandy had a point with that. Sirius was upset that they had to give it up even if deep down he knew why it was a good idea but that still left a problem. "Then how will we know which potential adopters will want our baby?" Sirius asked.

"Madame Pomfrey knows the gender and will screen the adopters she's showing us to only include those who want that specific gender or don't care either way.

"Oh," Sirius answered looking away. That made sense but it didn't stop him from wanting to know. He was going to be a father and part of him would always wonder what it was.

"Were you planning on naming the baby?" Pomfrey asked. Though naming the baby would make them more attached to what could have been, Pomfrey had to know where the students' heads were.

"We'll consider that the closer we get to delivery. Do you think I'll be able to go to class today?" Mandy asked. Time to definitely change the subject. The nurses eyes were definitely judging her.

"How do you feel? And Miss Hunter, please don't lie to me."

"I'm tired and my back hurts but I'm sure it's just pregnancy symptoms."

"I want you to sleep for the next hour. If you wake in time for classes then I suppose I can allow you to attend. Right now class isn't where you need to be, but I know how stubborn you are. The minute you do wake up and I'm not watching you like a hawk after its prey you're going to slip right out of here anyway." That and it was obvious to anyone who knew Mandy that the girl wouldn't sit still unless you could force her and even that was difficult.

"Thank you."

"Mr. Black, breakfast. Miss Hunter, your food is on the table." Mandy picked up the plate of eggs and sausage from the table and quickly ate before downing her drink and falling asleep. Like always, the drink had been laced with a mild sleeping potion because Pomfrey knew there was no other way to get the girl to stay put for more than a few hours. Sirius sighed, kissed his girlfriend's forehead, then went to breakfast.

Isn't he just the sweetest? Questions, comments, anything? Just leave a review. Please and thanks.