Sirius and Decima spent the rest of the afternoon alone, going through Scrivenshaft's, looking for the very specific supplies Decima required for her homework, which was quite abundant, even with her O.W.L.s approaching. All the while, they discussed the rather strange behavior of Mary MacDonald.

"I don't know," said Sirius slowly, examining a set of eagle-feather quills. "I mean, there's what happened last year, but I don't think this is quite the same…"

"What exactly did happen last year?" said Decima running her finger along the shelf that held the various bottles of ink, trying to find the one she used for essays. "I mean, I know that Mulciber got in a lot of trouble, but… I never heard what about."

"Imperius Curse," spat Sirius. "Ah, found your quills, love."

She turned and looked at the box, giving it an approving nod before turning back to the ink, as Sirius began leafing through rolls of parchment.

"What was he trying to make her do?"

"No one knows for sure, but there was a lot of talk that he was trying to get her to attack another student."

"Who?"

Sirius frowned.

"James."

Decima whirled around, her search for ink momentarily forgotten.

"James? But why? I mean, Mary would be a good choice, I suppose, if you're trying to get at James. Lily might have been better… but then, Lily paying James too much voluntary attention at the time would have been incredibly suspicious. But… why?"

Sirius shrugged, selecting three rolls of parchment and turning to help her with the ink.

"No one really knows. As you probably noticed, the details of the incident were fairly well hushed up by the staff and she obviously doesn't remember a thing. Mulciber got a slap on the wrist, probably in exchange for not discussing the incident further."

"That's disgusting," spat Decima, selecting a jar of ink, sniffing it carefully, and giving it an approving nod, moving to the register to pay for her supplies.

"Yeah, it really is," said Sirius.

"Well, darling we've taken care of everything on my list. What do you want to do?"

He smirked.

"I have this place I want to show you, now that I've gotten the okay from Moony. He reckons you're not going to go blabbing Marauder secrets to the world, so I can tell you our deepest, darkest ones."

Decima raised an eyebrow. Darker secrets than their best friend being a werewolf? Did it get darker than that? But then, when had the Marauders ever ceased to surprise her?

"All right, then," she said with a smile. "Lead the way!"

He began leading her back up to the castle, pausing to check the Marauder's Map.

"Okay, good," he muttered. "Peter's in place. C'mon, let's go."

As they rushed back to the castle, Decima asked, "What's the deal with Tien and Lucius?"

"Ah, that's a very good question. She's never told me, and to be honest, from the little bits I've been able to gather, I've rather decided I'm better off not knowing."

They were on the grounds now, and Sirius was leading her off toward the lake. She realized that he had set a course for the Whomping Willow.

"Um, darling?" she said nervously.

"Yes, love?"

"I love you, but I'd rather not best Davy Gudgeon and actually lose my eye. Any reason why you're taking me at the tree that fights?"

"You'll see, sweetheart. Don't worry, I'd never put those beautiful eyes in danger."

Decima snorted. That was pretty cheesy, even for Sirius, but he seemed pleased with himself, so she daren't say it aloud. She simply followed him toward the tree. He gave a little whistle that carried across the grounds, and suddenly, she saw the tree freeze. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

"C'mon," he said. "We've got to hurry."

She followed him, and he lowered her down into a hole at the trunk of the tree, following her down just after, and taking her hand, leading her through the dark tunnel they had just landed in. Nothing should have surprised her at this point, but even after dating a Marauder for months, Decima still found herself stunned. Who would have thought there was a passageway under the Whomping Willow of all places, or that the Marauders had managed to find it?

He led her up the passage until they reached a lighter part, and she realized they were climbing into a house of sorts, with tattered furniture and no signs of actual life. She frowned.

"Where are we?"

"This, my love," he said with a flourish, "is the Shrieking Shack."

Decima looked around at the room she was standing in, shocked. Sirius had brought her to the most haunted building in Britain through a secret passageway under the most bloodthirsty tree at Hogwarts. Perhaps this was all some sort of strange dream. Maybe she had a turkey sandwich before bed again…

"The Shrieking Shack?" she repeated, trying to decide whether or not to laugh.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why don't you sit down, CiCi? We've got a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, I'm guessing we do," she said, "since you've taken me to a haunted house as some sort of idea of a date, after leading me through a tunnel beneath a tree that could have killed me."

"Hmm, yeah, have a seat then, I've finally gotten permission to tell you everything and this story's a doozy."

Decima sighed, sitting down in the only chair in the whole room that wasn't upturned. Sirius paced the floor.

"Okay, so sometime in the summer of 1971, the Shrieking Shack was built, and the Whomping Willow was planted over the entrance to that passage we just came through. That's because on September first of that year, a young boy was starting at Hogwarts with a serious issue. You already know about that though. This was all created because Remus is a werewolf."

Now things were starting to make sense. But if she already knew about the reason behind it, what more could he possibly have to tell her?

"So we spent years trying to find a way to be with him when he transformed, make things more bearable for him. It took three years to do properly, but James and Peter and I are Animagi."

Decima blinked. She couldn't have heard that right.

"Animagi?"

"Yeah, you know, that essay you absolutely failed."

She didn't appreciate his sass, and gave him a look that plainly told him so, before saying, "All right, if you're an Animagus, let's see your form."

"My pleasure, darling," he said, and with a bow, he was suddenly not there. Rather, a large black dog was standing in front of her, its head bowed at her, lifting back up and panting happily. The dog bounded over to her, put its front paws on her lap and happily licked her face. She giggled. It was definitely Sirius. She knew those gray eyes anywhere. She happily pet the dog until she noticed that one of his paws was sliding up her thigh, under her skirt, and dangerously close to her panties. She snorted, flicking him on the nose, which caused him to recoil and turn back into his human form.

"What was that for?"

"For coping a feel in dog form, Sirius. That's just weird."

He grinned at her and winked.

"You know you liked it."

She just sighed and asked if there was anything more to the story.

"Oh, yeah. James is a stag and Peter is a rat. We have tamed the wild beast that is Remus once a month, and when we're they're he's fairly well-behaved. So we've done a lot of exploring. We know more about Hogwarts and the grounds than anyone since the founders. And we made this map. It has all of the castle and the grounds on it, with all the passageways and everything. And, it has all the people, too. So if you're on Hogwarts grounds and we're looking for you, we'll find you, no matter where you are!"

"Is that how you stalked me when I was with Regulus?" said Decima wryly.

"Yeah," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I borrowed James's Invisibility Cloak a lot for that, too."

She giggled.

"Fascinating, love. Anything else?"

"Well," said Sirius, approaching her confidently, "I figured there was something we could do while we're here, if you're up for it…"

She smirked.

"Well," she said, standing and allowing him to lead her up the stairs, "I suppose it is called the Shrieking Shack."

Sirius's eyes glowed with lust as he whispered in her ear, "Let's give those unsuspecting third years a Hogsmeade trip they'll never forget."

Despite their decrepit surroundings, Sirius delivered, as always. As he led her back up to the school for dinner hours later, a question hit her mind and she asked it, as always, without giving her mind time to decide if that was really a good idea.

"So how many girls have you brought out here?"

Damn that mouth of hers.

Sirius tensed and paused, looking at her through the darkness of the tunnel around them. He was studying her, which couldn't mean anything good, and even with the lack of light she could tell that his posture was still and uncomfortable.

"One," he said. "Just you."

Decima felt incredibly guilty all of a sudden, as though every time she had been a little harsh with him, every time she made an unnecessary jab, as though she had done it all at once and she felt like the worst person in the world. She forgot, for a moment, that he had cheated on her. In light of everything he had done for her, that one moment of indiscretion really did feel incredibly insignificant, and suddenly the revenge she had taken with James seemed so unfair, so over-the-top. She was the worst girlfriend in the world.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, slipping her hand out of his and sitting down on the hard, cool earth of the tunnel.

He scrambled down to sit next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder and holding her tightly to him. Almost out of habit, Decima rested her head on his shoulder.

"Now what on earth do you have to be sorry for?" he whispered softly, petting her hair gently.

"I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

"Why in the name of Merlin would you think something like that, love?" he groaned, pulling her tightly to his chest.

"Because it's true," Decima moaned back. "I've done nothing put point out your flaws and poke at your insecurities for days and I can't believe you've barely said a word about it. I need to get over myself. I mean, you obviously love me–"

"Damn right," he muttered with a chuckle.

" – and I need to just realize that and move on. We didn't mean any of it. So why can't I just move past it?"

They sat like that for what felt like forever, not saying a word, holding each other. Decima couldn't be sure of what Sirius was thinking, but she knew it was nothing to what she was thinking. He deserved better, someone who wasn't going to be so incredibly up and down about everything all of the time, someone whole and able to be secure in his love for her. But at the same time, she knew she couldn't leave him. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she had nothing else to hope for, and he certainly didn't want her to go anywhere. After all of the things he had told her, all of the secrets he had shared, could she really leave him in good conscience, anyway?

"CiCi," he whispered finally, "I love you so, so much. I've never wanted or loved anyone nearly as much or at all in the same way. And I could sit here all day trying to convince you I'm telling the truth and begging you to stay with me if that's what you needed, but I don't think it is. And I'm incredibly hungry. So why don't we go grab something to eat before dinner's over, all right, love?"

A little reluctantly, Decima allowed Sirius to help her to her feet and resume leading her up the passageway, across the grounds, into the castle and across the Great Hall to where their friends were sitting. Tien had joined them for dinner, and was humming to herself as she worked butter into her mashed potatoes, or rather, as she worked mashed potatoes into her butter. Gwen and Remus were side-hugging each other as they ate. Ah, the advantages of dating a lefty, Decima mused. Lily and James were sitting across from each other, meeting each other's gazes and then looking away, blushing profusely. Those early stages of love and butterflies were a good look for the couple. Peter was simply stabbing his steak with his fork, not bothering to cut or eat it. Clearly he was still bitter about missing the Hogsmeade trip.

"So," said Sirius as he sat down next to James, pulling Decima down next to him, "am I right in saying that was the best Hogsmeade trip ever?"

"You're the only one who got laid today, Sirius," said Tien loftily. "Don't forget us normal people who shag in places where the rest of the world can't hear."

Sirius opened his mouth, head tilted to the side as though he was about to say something, but then he just grinned, snapped his mouth shut and shrugged as though she had said he needed a haircut. Decima blushed and quickly piled food on her plate. They had actually heard her. Contrary to her embarrassment, Sirius looked incredibly proud, immensely pleased with himself, and Tien just laughed as he puffed out his chest. Decima decided they needed a change of topic.

"So, Peter, you missed the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade."

Peter looked up, pleased. She had thought he would be glad that he hadn't been caught in the middle of that one, and she was right. He really was quite a coward. How was he in Gryffindor, anyway? Maybe the hat really was going senile.

"Ah, yes," said Tien with a bitter laugh, "Mr. I'm-So-Perfect-Look-At-My-Shiny-Blond-Locks Malfoy. What a pouf."

Sirius snorted into his pumpkin juice, James laughed so hard he started choking on his steak, and Remus just grinned and shook his head. Decima hated to admit it, but that was an incredibly accurate description of Lucius.

"Tien, I couldn't help but notice," said Decima, carefully considering each word, "that there seemed to be some sort of tension between you and Lucius. I'm guessing there's a story?"

"You're guessing right," said James with a grin. "Go on, sweetie, tell them the story. It's my favorite."

Tien grinned in a fake shy sort of way, and waved as though it was nothing, but the boys chanted her name, clapping, begging for a story. Finally she set down her fork, dabbed her face with her napkin, and grinned at them. The Marauders were instantly silent.

"Last year, I got separated from my parents in Diagon Alley, and I saw this shop around the corner with shrunken heads. Well, naturally I had to take a look."

"Naturally," said the boys in consent, sharing a fond smile.

"So I walked down to the shop, not noticing that I had actually just stepped into Knockturn Alley. Truly dodgy place. I plan on personally exploring it when the war's over. Anyway, there I was, admiring the display of shrunken heads in the shop window, thinking to myself what a marvelous variety they had, when and hand went over my mouth and I was dragged around behind a shop across the street. I was suddenly surrounded by large, cloaked figures with masks."

"Death Eaters?" squeaked Lily, a horrified look on her face. Tien nodded solemnly. Decima had to hand it to the girl, her story telling skills were excellent.

"That's right," she said softly, and they all leaned in closer, so as not to miss a word, "Death Eaters. Now, they had their hoods up, but I recognized the leader because some of his precious, silky blond hair was sticking out of his hood. He tried to rape me, but I was able to wrestle my wand arm free and fight back. Twenty minutes later, I was back in Diagon Alley, my family was none the wiser, and the Death Eater called Selwyn is no longer able to reproduce."

Decima looked at the grinning Asian beauty in awe. She had been taken completely by surprise, held down, nearly raped, but she managed to get away, and take decent revenge. Lucius still appeared to be scared of her. This was the kind of girl Sirius deserved, someone brave and talented, someone convinced of her own self-worth and willing to stick up for herself. This was the type of girl Sirius wanted her to be, she knew it.

And Selwyn wouldn't be able to have children. That was probably for the best, she mused. He was incredibly stupid. Unleashing his offspring on the world was a horrible plan. Tien had done the wizarding world a great service. Too bad she only got one of them.

"So how much of that story is actually true, Tien?" said Remus with a smirk.

"I'll have you know, Moony," said the girl with a frown, "that this particular story is completely factual. I don't make up stuff about Death Eaters. We're at war. This is serious business."

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Tien," said Remus graciously. "But you'll understand my hesitancy."

"Naturally," she said loftily. "Oh, and James, don't schedule a practice for next Thursday. It's my mother's birthday."

James frowned.

"And why can't I schedule practice on your mother's birthday?"

"Because I have to celebrate her birthday, you dolt," she sneered.

"Are you going home?"

"No."

"Are you fire calling her?"

"No."

"Then how the hell are you celebrating it that would keep you from going to practice?"

"I'm taking advantage of the holiday-like circumstances of the day to sleep off the incredible hangover I'm planning on getting Friday night. I suggest you do the same."

Sirius, Remus and Peter all laughed uproariously, and Decima cracked a small smile. She could get used to this girl.

"Sorry, Vo," said James with a smile. "I don't care if you come to practice with a hangover, but you're coming to practice if I have to send someone to physically drag you down there."

"Now, James, darling," said Tien loftily, "what have we learned today about trying to force me to do things I don't want to do?"

James frowned, picked at his steak for a moment.

"Practice Sunday good?"

"Excellent."

"All right, I'll tell the rest of the team."

As he got up to alert the rest of the Quidditch team to the practice change, Tien smirked over at Decima and winked.

"Appeal to James, Jr. Best way to deal with James, Sr."

It certainly appeared to be an effective method, but Decima hoped she wouldn't have to use it.