Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Chapter Three

A dog?

The first day of school was always a hectic one. Most students, not used to the early morning, were either late or half asleep when they finally arrived to their lessons, and breakfast was always a quiet affair. This was true for the Gryffindor girls, who had spent most of the night chatting excitedly about their chosen subjects for their last year at school.

Dragging herself out of bed, and chuckling at the usual arguments between Mary and Theresa over the bathroom, Camille pulled out her uniform for the day and headed to the showers. After readying herself as quickly as possible, she rushed down to the Great Hall to receive her timetable for the year and eating a hurried breakfast of toast and marmalade.

Camille had an easy start to the morning, Herbology, which she found quite easy. Professor Sprout was a softie really, and if you showed an interest in anything plant related, you were bound to remain on her good side for a long time. Camille had aspirations of becoming a Healer, and after achieving the required results in her O.W.L's, had had to opt for the toughest subjects Hogwarts had to offer.

Camille bade goodbye to Lily, Mary and Theresa, who were heading own to Arithmancy, and dragged a tired Isla towards the greenhouses.

"Oh I hate the first day of the year," yawned Isla, rubbing her eyes, "I hope Sprout goes easy on us".

"Doubt it," grumbled Camille, "She worked us like packhorses last year, remember",

Isla mumbled something incoherent, and Camille chuckled. The girls turned the corner leading to the greenhouses and spotted a small crowd of students patiently awaiting their teacher. Amongst them, were Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who were chatting away cheerily, looking as though they'd gotten a much better night's sleep than the girls had.

"Morning Millie, Isla," Remus greeted with a smile. Camille smiled in response, too tired to say anything. She squeezed in between Remus and Peter, leaning against the greenhouse wall and closing her eyes.

"Late night?" she heard Remus question, to which she nodded. Remus chuckled, and leant against the wall beside Camille.

"We have a meeting tonight; James posted it this morning on the notice board".

Camille opened her eyes, "I didn't have time to check, someone forgot to set the alarm".

Isla visibly reddened, and turned her attention to Peter, talking about something completely irrelevant, no doubt.

"I'm praying we don't have to patrol, I'm going to bed as soon as the days over," Camille continued, her sentence followed by a rather large yawn. Remus chuckled again, and checked his watch. It seemed Professor Sprout was running late this morning too.

"James'll probably give to the fifth years, something about the elders not having to do the work".

"He would say that," grinned Camille, "He was never a prefect. I'm still shocked he actually got the badge".

"Dumbledore must've saw something in him," Remus shrugged, but Camille sensed a slight hardness to his tone. And who could blame him, Remus was perfect for the job, it didn't seem fair.

"Well, he and Lily have more responsibility than us," Camille reasoned, "We've got it easier than those two".

She glanced at Remus, who seemed to have brightened up a little at this. She smiled slightly. Sometimes, Remus needed a little reassurance, though she didn't know why. At that moment, Professor Sprout came bounding around the corner, professing her apologies for being late and tapping the greenhouse door with her wand. The class filed in, and Camille took her usual seat next to Remus, pulling out her dragon skin gloves and her textbook.

"Fire Seed Bushes!" Professor Sprout exclaimed, pointing to the row of plants behind her that were aflame, "Can anyone tell me what they are?"

Remus' hand immediatly rose, and Professor Sprout nodded.

"The Fire Seed Bush is a plant that must be on fire to live. From it, you collect the seeds which are used in various potions".

"Correct you are Mr Lupin," Professor Sprout beamed, "Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, Professor Slughorn needs some of said seeds, so today we'll be collecting them. You'll need to wear your gloves, goggles are provided. Two to a bush, once you have the seeds, put them in these bowls and give them to me at the end of the lesson, and girls, hair tied up".

The class stood, Remus went to collect one of the plants, whilst Camille collected a fire proof bowl and goggles. Once seated, the class set about collecting the seeds, taking extra care not to get their eyebrows singed.

"At least we'll be warm," chuckled Remus, boldly grabbing a handful of seeds from the plant. Camille raised her eyebrows and laughed nervously. Luckily, the dragon skin gloves protected their hands from the flames, and they were able to collect the seeds with ease.

"So, what pranks do the Marauders have planned for our final year?" asked Camille, dropping a fistful of seeds into the bowl beside her.

"A Marauder never tells," Remus winked, "But we're in for a hectic year, I can tell you that much".

Camille quirked an eyebrow, "Should I be worried?"

Remus chuckled, dropping his seeds into the bowl, "Have you ever not been worried?"

"Touché".

~*~

After Herbology, which was relatively uneventful unless you counted Ian Stebbins' eyebrows catching fire, Camille, Isla, Remus and Peter made their way back to the castle to spend their break. Camille, however, was leaving for the common room, having a free period for the next hour. She bade goodbye to Peter and Isla, who had either ancient runes or muggle studies, and set off for the common room with Remus.

The room was quiet when they entered, as most students would soon be leaving for their next lessons. Lily and Mary had ancient runes with Isla next, and Theresa had Muggle Studies with Peter.

"Shall we get started on the homework?" asked Remus, dumping his bag down next to one of the tables in the corner of the room. Camille nodded.

"Yeah, I'll go and get some more parchment".

When Camille returned, Remus had been joined by James and Sirius, who presumably had a free lesson now too. Thinking nothing of it, she quickly headed towards the boys and laid the rolls of parchment down next to Remus' open book.

"Do we need a trip to the library, or does the text book have all we need?" she asked, pulling out her quill. No answer. She glanced up, and saw that Remus was quite preoccupied with something James was telling him.

"Typical," she muttered, dipping her quill in the pot of ink and beginning to write.

Camille felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up. She shivered a little, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and returned to her essay. The feeling persisted, like an itch on the back of her neck. She absently rubbed her neck, finding it rather difficult to focus. Sliding her gaze ever so slowly to the left, she found the source of the problem. A pair of stormy grey eyes boring into the side of her head. She looked back quickly, and frowned. She could still feel his eyes on her, causing her to shudder once again. Setting down her quill, she straightened up, and turned to face Sirius.

"Did you...uhh...want something?"

James and Remus stopped talking and turned to see what was going on. Remus looked a little confused; James however, was smirking knowingly. Sirius merely continued to stare, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

"No...just admiring the view".

Camille quirked an eyebrow, her mouth falling open slightly. James snorted and Remus shook his head.

"Umm...am I supposed to...uhh," Camille exchanged a glance with Remus, "Swoon?"

Sirius merely smirked, and leant towards Camille.

"You do whatever you want love," he straightened up, and winked at Camille.

"Come on Prongs, Snivellus has a free now too, I saw him heading for the library".

James' eyes brightened considerably, and he stood up, closely followed by Sirius. Camille watched the boys go with a confused look, then turned to Remus.

"What on Earth was that?"

~*~

"So how're things with Lilyflower?"

James and Sirius wandered the halls after finding that Snape had left the library. James shrugged, kicking the ground with his feet as they went.

"As depressing as ever. I dunno what I'm doing wrong mate. Everything I say she just snaps at".

Sirius shrugged, and they continued on down the hallway. After a few moments silence, Sirius spoke.

"I never thought I'd say this, but maybe you need to...tone things down a bit".

James frowned, "As in?"

"I dunno, act...mature" Sirius pulled a disgusted face at the word, "Just in front of Evans, you know".

James seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"Just in front of Evans...reckon that would work?"

Sirius nodded, "It's worth a shot, what've you got to lose?"

James stared incredulously at Sirius, "Oh, I dunno...only the love of my life?!"

Sirius snorted, "You don't love her, you're just obsessed".

James huffed, and crossed his arms like a small child, "This coming from the bloke who's never actually gotten to the three month marker".

"Have you?"

James opened his mouth to respond, then smirked, "Good point. But I'm different, I'm saving myself".

"Right," Sirius laughed, pushing the doors to the Great Hall open, "And has Evans hexed you lately?"

James shifted uncomfortably, "Once this morning, but I could tell she was forcing it".

Sirius barked a laugh, picking up an empty goblet that was laid out ready for lunch in half an hour, "You've got it bad Prongs".

"What about you and Madame Camille?" James smirked, "I can't believe you didn't know she was French".

"Well she doesn't exactly flaunt it!" cried Sirius in exasperation, "How was I supposed to know".

James put his finger to his chin and mocked a thoughtful look.

"Maybe the French name...or the fact that she speaks French when she's angry...or maybe that she told us when we first met her..."

"I don't have that good of a memory," grumbled Sirius, "Besides, it's only a matter of time, I've already started to work on it".

"Ahh," James took a seat at the empty Gryffindor table, "So that's what that was all about, I just thought you were being an idiot again".

"Why am I friends with you?" scowled Sirius, aiming a kick at James who jumped away.

"You love me Paddy, admit it".

"When Evans admits she loves you," Sirius countered, earning himself a glare from his best friend.

"So you're really gonna do this. You're gonna get Camille to fall in love with you?" asked James.

Sirius nodded, "Shouldn't be too hard, the French are all hopeless romantics...besides, she's not too bad looking actually," he added thoughtfully.

James nodded, "I'm surprised you haven't tried it on before mate".

Sirius rolled his eyes, and chuckled.

"So am I, to be honest".

~*~

The bell for lunch rang, and Camille quickly stowed her things away in her bag. She and Remus hurried down to the Great Hall to beat the crowd, ignoring the glares they received from Rabastan and his cronies. Not that Camille cared; she hadn't gotten on with her cousins since third year. She spotted Lily, Isla and Mary walking towards the hall, and dragged Remus over.

"Hey Lils," Camille greeted jovially. Lily grinned, and linked her arm through Camille's.

"How's your first morning been?" the pretty red head asked as the two girls made their way to the Gryffindor table. Camille shrugged.

"Herbology was pretty interesting. We had to collect seeds from a plant that was on fire," she paused, and giggled, "Ian lost his eyebrows in the process, which was rather humorous, if I do say so myself".

Lily laughed, shaking her head, "Probably wasn't listening, the boy is such a chatterbox".

Camille nodded vehemently, "Then I had my free...actually that was strange".

"Oh?" Lily took an empty seat, Camille sliding in beside her, "And why is that?"

Camille glanced around, and spotted that Remus had gone to join James, Sirius and Peter further up the table. Theresa had joined Mary and Isla, who were discussing their morning lessons.

"Well...it's about Sirius, actually".

Lily straightened up a little as Camille told her what he had said, as well as the frequent using of her nickname, and the incident before the feast. Lily listened intently, nodding occasionally and looking thoughtful.

"Well," Camille said, having finished regaling Lily with her tale, "Any ideas?"

Lily snuck a glance down the table, where Sirius and Peter were partaking in a rather ferocious eating contest, then looked back.

"If I'm to make a guess, and it's just a guess mind you, I think you may have become Sirius' latest target".

And there they were, the words Camille had once longed to hear, the words she never thought she would ever hear, and the words she now wished she hadn't.

"Okay, scratch that, you don't look too happy," commented Lily, spying Camille's annoyed look.

"Urgh, he has some nerve. Thinks he can practically ignore me for six years and then try it on, who does he think he is?!"

Lily chuckled, shooting another glance towards the boys, "Sirius Black, of course".

Camille opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, and giggled.

"Right...why am I so annoyed by this?" she turned pleading blue eyes to Lily, who laughed once again.

"Cause its Sirius, we all know what he's like. No offence to the kid, but I think girls are starting to dislike the idea of dating him".

"I'm not surprised," Camille muttered darkly, "Remember the incident with Theresa; I was this close to throttling him".

Lily nodded with a scowl, "Good thing Remus calmed us all down before we caused serious damage".

Camille snorted at the unintended pun, her eyes flickering towards Sirius, who was proclaiming his victory having beaten Peter.

"Hopefully if I just ignore it, it'll go away".

"I dunno," Lily said sceptically, "Sirius can be pretty persistent".

Camille waved her hand dismissively, "No, no, he'll get the picture".

"Who'll get the picture," Isla had turned away from Theresa and Mary's conversation and was eyeing the pair suspiciously.

"Nothing, I'll tell you later," Camille whispered, "Why does Theresa look so angry?"

"Oh that's right!" Isla slapped a hand to her forehead, "You weren't there".

"Billy dumped her," Lily whispered, "For Carly Carmen".

Camille's jaw dropped, "Are you kidding me? When? What happened?"

Isla moved closer to the pair, "Well, we were coming out of our first lesson, and Billy just showed up. He pulled Theresa to the side, and told her it was over. She asked why, he said there was someone else. She asked who, he said Carly. She shouted, he backed away, then she hexed him".

Camille shot out a laugh, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Wow, wish I could've been there".

"It was brilliant," whispered Lily, "I've never seen a Bat Bogey Hex like it! It'll take a powerful witch to top something like that".

Camille continued to chuckle, shaking her head and finally getting round to her dinner.

"Oh wonderful," Isla started sarcastically, "Double potions with the Slytherins, this should be fun".

"If Potter pulls anything I may dismember him," Lily muttered darkly, causing Camille and Isla to shriek with laughter. The noise caught the attention of the Marauders, who looked over to the girls. James waved at Lily, who rolled her eyes and continued with her meal. Camille noticed Isla redden suddenly, and bury her face behind her timetable. Sirius, however, winked at Camille, then turned away. Camille snorted with disgust, shaking her head once more. He really was an idiot.

~*~

For some strange reason, the teachers seemed to think pairing the Gryffindors and the Slytherins together in a lesson that handled toxic elixirs and many poisons without cause for concern. Luckily, there had been no deaths as a result, but there had been quite a number of nasty accidents, more often than not, involving the Marauders.

All four of the wayward boys took the subject, James, Sirius and Remus all excelling, and Peter passing through their tutoring. At least one good thing could be said about them by Lily, they did help Peter alot.

Camille used to partner Remus, until the incident in fifth year, when Lily had begged Professor Slughorn to allow her to partner Camille instead of Snape. Lily, who was perhaps Slughorn's favourite student, understood her predicament and allowed it immediately, leaving Remus to partner Peter. He hadn't minded, of course, knowing that Lily now despised Snape. However, it meant that Lily and Camille were sandwiched between four rowdy Marauders during the lesson, something Lily had disliked from the start.

It had never bothered Camille; for the most part, James had pestered Lily for a bit, gotten bored, and plotted something with Sirius, leaving the girls in peace to either focus on their potion or chat with Remus and Peter. However now, Camille was sure Lily wouldn't be the only one being pestered.

The girls took their seats on the right side of the room, directly behind Sirius and James, directly in front of Remus and Peter. So far, the two in front hadn't spoken to Camille and Lily, though it was only a matter of time.

Professor Slughorn entered the room, his pale, gooseberry eyes surveying his students brightly. He set down his briefcase, whipped out his wand, and wrote the word 'Amortentia' on the blackboard.

"Amortentia," he boomed, "Can anybody tell me what this is?"

Lily's hand immediately shot in the air, and Camille smiled. Lily was always in her element in potions.

"Yes Miss Evans," Slughorn said jovially, clearly happy to see one of his favourite students.

"Amortentia is a potion that causes a powerful infatuation or obsession within the drinker. If correctly brewed, the smell of the potion will differ to each person, giving off the scents of the things they love the most".

Slughorn applauded politely, and grinned through his large moustache, "Excellent Miss Evans, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, can anyone tell me what colour the potion would be if brewed correctly?"

"Mother-of-Pearl," called Lily quickly, reddening slightly as several Slytherins at the back of the room sniggered.

"Correct again Miss Evans, take another ten points. Now, Amortentia can be dangerous, can anyone tell me why?"

Camille decided to have some input, and raised her hand.

"Yes Miss Bellegarde?"

"The drinker can become unstable towards his or hers target of affection. They can become dangerous in their infatuation, towards themselves and others," Camille answered promptly.

"Very good Miss Bellegarde, ten points to Gryffindor. Now," Slughorn waved his wand once again, and a set of instructions appeared on the board, "We covered Amortentia in your sixth year. I have left out three main ingredients, so to test your knowledge, I would like you in your pairs to locate the missing ingredients and brew the potion. You have the entire lesson, you may begin".

Camille glanced uneasily at Lily, but was relieved to see her looking rather confident. She smiled at Camille, then hurried from her seat to the store cupboard. Camille pulled out her wand and conjured flames beneath the cauldron in front of her, and waited for Lily to return.

Sirius turned in his seat, and grinned at Camille. She smiled back, more out of politeness than anything, then turned back to her cauldron. The itch on the back of her neck returned, and she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Can I help you, Sirius," she said a little frostily. Sirius seemed undeterred, and continued to grin.

"I never noticed how pretty your eyes are," he said smoothly, leaning towards Camille.

Camille quirked an eyebrow, "Probably because this is the first time we've spoken in about six years," she turned back to her cauldron just as Lily returned.

"Alright I have anything, managed to avoid a run in with Potter, god the boy is..." Lily trailed off, noting that Sirius was watching Camille with a strange look upon his face.

"Can we help you, Sirius," she asked slowly. Sirius continued to stare at Camille, then shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Nice talking to you, Millie," Sirius turned back around and began chatting to James. Lily raised her eyebrows, and glanced at Lily.

"What was all that about?"

Camille winced, and chewed her lip.

"I think your musings about Sirius were right...and I think I was a little too harsh".

Lily tilted her head quizzically, but said nothing. She began sorting through the ingredients whilst Camille stared out of the wind, her normally bright eyes glazed over and her mouth hanging open slightly.

She wasn't sure why she felt bad, or felt that she had been too harsh. Her intention was to make it clear to Sirius she wasn't interested, which she wasn't, of course. Maybe it was the fact that Camille had watched for years Lily brushing James off so carelessly, but also seen the look in his eyes when she did so, something Lily clearly missed. And nothing, nothing in her world would make her want to make someone feel like that.

Deciding there was no point in dwelling on it, and that Sirius more than likely didn't care, Camille shook herself from her reverie, and turned to help Lily with the potion.

It was nearing the end of the lesson, and Lily and Camille had done a fine job in brewing their Amortentia; in fact, the entire class seemed to have done extremely well, each cauldron shimmering a pearly, pink-white colour. Camille grinned at Lily, and leant forward to smell the potion.

"What can you smell?" Lily asked, garnering the attention of Sirius and James. Camille closed her eyes for a moment, and smiled.

"Fresh bread...something musky, I'm not sure what it is...croissants...the wine my dad drinks," the grin slid from Camille's face, and she adopted a rather perplexed look.

"What?" asked Lily, looking slightly alarmed.

"And dog?"

Camille heard a sputter, but ignored it, "I always thought I was a cat person".

Lily shrugged, and inhaled the fumes of the potion, "Mmmm...mum's apple pie...a new book...a woody smell...oh I love this potion".

Camille nodded vehemently, and grinned, "Definitely, though I'm still confused about the dog," Camille turned to see James and Sirius watching the girls, "What did you two smell?"

"Nothing," James replied immediately, going slightly red and turning away. Camille glanced at Sirius, who shrugged.

"The usual stuff, broomsticks, butterbeer, you know..." he trailed off, then turned back to his potion. Lily and Camille exchanged confused glances, then shrugged simultaneously. Boys could be very strange.

A/N: And there's chapter three! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it! :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter too, I had a lot of fun writing this one!