Chapter 4: Disappearances

As the winter holidays approached, Remus was feeling unusually happy. After all, James wasn't expelled, he was finally going out with Lily, Snape was seething more than could be thought possible, and he'd gotten an owl from his parents giving him permission to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays. Everything was going along perfectly. Granted, James was spending enormous amounts of time with Lily but Remus wasn't complaining. After all, it gave him an excuse to hang around Lily's friends, Adielle in particular.

Remus knew he couldn't actually go out with her because of his 'condition', but he could allow himself the fantasy. He often had daydreams that he had never been bitten and that he was as normal as any other kid. These often left him feeling depressed, knowing in the back of his mind that the bite was irreversible and he would never be normal.

It was during one of these bitter reveries where he felt a tap on his shoulder. He started, looking up sheepishly. Adielle was standing over him.

"Can I sit there?" she asked pointing at the seat next to him. He nodded. Normally she would be sitting with Lily, but now Lily and James were inseparable.

Adielle slumped down in the seat next to him, casting a wistful glance at Lily and James. She gave Remus a lopsided smile.

"Not the only one being excluded now they're together I see." She said ruefully. Remus nodded.

"I don't mind much though. I've never seen James happier. Except after we win a Quidditch match, perhaps."

Adielle nodded half heartedly. "Yeah, same with Lily. But now she's spending less and less time with me and the others. I didn't think that she'd slight us for him, even if they are going out."

She pulled out a piece of parchment. "I guess I'm going to have to get used to taking my own notes. Usually, Lily does it."

Remus looked over at where Lily and James were sitting. Sirius and Alantra were sitting behind them. He was slightly annoyed that Sirius hadn't sat with him, but he could hardly complain –Adielle looked remarkably pretty today. Adielle looked grimly at the parchment, as if afraid of writing on it.

"I'll take notes and you can copy them, if you want." He offered shyly. She looked up smiling gratefully.

"Would you really? Thanks."

He took the parchment and began scribbling. He was used to taking notes for people. Adielle began drawing doodles on her hand. Her long black hair fell over her shoulder and tumbled onto Remus's deck.

"Sorry," she said tossing it behind her back. Remus kept writing. He hadn't minded at all that her hair had been just two inches away from his hand. He began taking more notes to distract himself from her.

"I wonder where Sophilia is." Adielle said suddenly. Remus looked around. Sure enough, Sophilia was no where to be seen. Adielle continued, "It's not like her to miss a class. Even if it is History of Magic."

Remus shrugged, "Maybe she's ill."

Adielle looked doubtful, "She seemed fine this morning. Oh well, maybe I'll see her at lunch."

"Sorry you got stuck sitting with me?" he asked with a lopsided smile.

"Of course not." She said quickly her cheeks turning pink, "I was just wondering… Really, if I did mind sitting with you I'd let you know."

He laughed and returned to his note taking.

But, Sophilia wasn't at lunch nor dinner. Adielle wasn't the only one who'd noticed her absence. Even Lily was asking where she was.

"I haven't seen her since breakfast." Adielle said fretfully at dinner. She was looking around every few minutes for her. Alantra and Lily were also looking.

"Where does she normally go when she skives off?" asked Sirius gazing at the ceiling.

Lily looked worried, "That's just it, she never skives off. She goes to every class."

"Maybe we should check the hospital wing." Said Alantra.

"We could ask one of the Ravenclaws to check their common room for her." Suggested James.

Lily nodded, "I'll do that. Alantra check the hospital wing. She might be in the Room of Requirement. Sirius, why don't you check there? James can use his Invisibility Cloak and check the grounds and Hagrid's house. Okay, let's go." They all got up leaving Remus and Adielle.

Adielle glared at her back as they left. "Why did she forget us?" she asked indignantly, "She was the one who didn't even notice Sophilia was gone! I had to tell her, and now she's forgotten me!"

Remus shrugged, "Do you really think something happened to Sophilia though? It seems like she's over reacting slightly."

Adielle stopped glaring at Lily's back for a moment and turned to him, "Yes, she is. I wouldn't start actually searching for her until tomorrow. It's doubtful anything is seriously wrong, but it is rather uncharacteristic for Sophilia to miss one class, let alone the whole day."

Remus nodded, "Let them search then. I'm going to the Common Room. You coming?"

"For lack of anything better to do, yes. And I've got to copy those notes you took." She grumbled and got up.

They walked in silence up to Gryffindor Tower. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming up behind them. It was Sophilia.

"Hello, you cheery lot." She rather breathlessly.

"Where have you been?" hissed Adielle.

Sophilia grinned and said loftily, "Oh, around. I know I missed the whole day, but I got Lily's attention now didn't I?"

Remus goggled at her, "You skipped an entire day of classes to get Lily's attention?"

"Well I don't see you two doing much in that area." She retorted "Besides, I'm a bit more desperate than you. Being the only one in a different house I have to work harder to figure things out since I'm usually not there when it happens. Lily is usually the one who fills me in," she cast Adielle a reproachful look before continuing "But she's so preoccupied with James that she seems to have forgotten I exist."

"So you reminded her that you're here by not being here? Brilliant." Said Remus somewhat sarcastically. Adielle was studying her shoes.

"Well, it worked didn't it. She's looking for me."

They had reached the portrait hole.

"Snarkout field." Said Sophilia matter-of-factly.

"How do you—"

"Peter told me." She replied climbing through the hole. "This is where I hid all day. No one would ever think of looking for a Ravenclaw in the Gryffindor common room. Especially one who usually obeys the rules."

"There you are!" Sirius bounded over to them. Several first years glanced over at them, but every one else seemed unaware that there was an outsider present.

"Alantra, Lily and James are still looking for you. Well," he paused with a grin "Lily and James might have taken a break for a quick snog, but they're searching frantically, oh yes."

They settled themselves down on the comfy sofas. Sophilia told Sirius where she had hidden all day.

"Ingenious." He said leaning back, "But people come in here all the time during breaks and after meals, how did you stay unnoticed?"

"The girl's dormitory of course. It's awfully messy up there, you really ought to clean it sometime." She scolded Adielle playfully.

"And your room looks like Buckingham palace does it?" she shot back laughing.

"Bucka—what?"

Remus grinned, "That's where the muggle queen lives." He glanced at Adielle. How did she know about a muggle place like that? She didn't take muggle studies. Had she read about it somewhere like he had? Was she muggle-born? He'd never asked her. She could be, or a half blood.

He was jerked by his thoughts, when the portrait hole opened and a frantic Lily followed by bemused looking James and Alantra came in.

"Where could she be? We looked every where for her? What if something terrible happened to her? Oh, I wished I'd paid more attention to her before. This is my fault. I—what are you doing here?"

She'd just noticed Sophilia sitting between Sirius and Adielle on the sofa. There was a brief silence, then everyone except Lily burst out laughing.

The next day, Lily made a point of spending almost the entire day with Sophilia, Alantra and Adielle. However, Adielle still sat with Remus during History of Magic. She said it was so she could get away from Lily for a bit. "She can't seem to find a middle ground," she said to Remus "She's either completely ignoring us, or acting like a second shadow." Remus was secretly very pleased, and soon History became his favorite class.

Professor Binns never noticed his students at all, so Remus and Adielle would talk while Remus took notes. Some days Adielle would take notes, but they quickly agreed that Remus should do it. Adielle's note-taking skills were nonexistent. Sophilia didn't skip another class. Actually, most of the teachers were happy she'd missed that day; it had given all the other students to catch up.

It was about a week after Sophilia's mysterious disappearance, and Remus was scribbling down some random facts about Witch trials of the 1600's, when Adielle asked suddenly, "Where was Peter during that day, you know when Sophilia skipped? I didn't see him at all, did you?"

Remus looked up frowning, "Now that you mention it, I didn't see him either. Of course we were kind of preoccupied with Sophilia's disappearance and Peter's not that hard to over look."

"Did I hear my name?" Sophilia leaned over, abandoning her note taking.

"Yeah, you didn't happen to see Peter the day you hid in Gryffindor tower, did you? I don't remember seeing him. Remus either." Said Adielle.

Sophilia made the same face as Remus had, "No, of course I was in your dormitory most of the day, so I probably wouldn't have. Ask Alantra or Sirius. I doubt L.J noticed anything that day."

"L.J?" grinned Remus.

Sophilia nodded, "Yeah, it's easier than saying 'Lily and James'. When I'm talking about them both I just say they're initials. Anyway, the last I'd seen him was at breakfast when he gave me the pass word to your common room."

Remus shook his head, smiling and returned to his notes. After class he hurried up to the common room, it was a full moon that night and he wanted to get his home work done before it rose.