6 September 1975

The next morning at breakfast, James and Sirius took turns glancing at the entrance to the Great Hall. Remus poured over the Daily Prophet, reading his friends bits and pieces of the news, though he was secretly looking for any scrap of news concerning Voldemort or the American Magical Society. Peter sat, nervously as usual, nibbling a piece of toast.

"Listen to this," said Remus, "The Ministry of Magic has issued a decree—"

Sirius rose abruptly and waved at the heavy oak doors. A tall elegant figure made her way across the room, her black Hogwarts cloak and her long dark hair billowing behind her as she walked toward them; heads turned as she passed.

"Good morning, Sirius. James. Peter. Remus. I thought I'd join y'all in Hogsmeade after all," she said, taking the open seat between Remus and Sirius. She reached for a grapefruit and began to peel it. Sirius sat and watched in awe of her, suddenly at a loss for words.

"How did you sleep?" asked James, reaching over to place a piece of toast on her plate, "Blackberry jam. Your favorite."

"Thank you. I slept well. For the first time in a several months I slept restfully through the night," responded Roseberry, biting into the toast. She leaned over Remus's shoulder, "Hmmm...news. I've been out of the loop all summer."

Remus looked up from the paper and smiled, "Shall I continue, then?"

Remus read as Roseberry and the Marauders listened, eating their breakfast in silence. James couldn't help but notice that Sirius kept shooting looks over at his cousin as she laughed at Remus's commentary on the news.

The walk to Hogsmeade in the brisk chill of morning seemed to brighten Roseberry's spirits. Her cheeks took on a rosy glow and her eyes sparkled. She kept looking around and admiring the clear blue sky, the chirping of the birds, and the quaint little shops.

The first stop was, of course, Zonko's. James and Sirius restocked their stores of Dungbombs and marveled over the new products. The mischievous duo tested product after product on Peter, laughing as he shrieked in surprise.

Roseberry noticed that Remus looked rather uncomfortable watching the rather pathetic little boy being used as a human guinea pig for whatever impish plot they'd hatched. "Do you know if there's a shop where I might purchase a few items for classes? Quills, parchments, and the like?" she asked.

"Of course. I have a few things I need to get. I'll take you if you'd like," said Remus, looking rather relieved at the distraction. He turned to the other boys, "I'm walking Roseberry to Scrivenshaft's. Meet you at the Three Broomsticks?"

James waved them off, but Sirius looked rather torn. He started to join them, but the pair had slipped through the door before he had the chance.

.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.

As Sirius followed James out of Zonko's, he caught a glimpse of Roseberry and Remus talking as they walked toward Hogsmeade's social hub. Sirius watched as Remus gestured wildly. By the looks of it, he was describing some humorous mishap involving a spell gone awry. Roseberry threw back her head and laughed. Sirius admired the twinkle of her eyes and her beautiful smile. He only wished that it was his joke, his story that had coaxed the reaction out of her.

"Let's have a butterbeer," suggested James, greeting Roseberry and Remus.

"Butterbeer? What's that?" asked Roseberry.

"It's a beverage," responded Sirius. "It's delicious, you'll like it."

James led his friends into the pub and found them a table. Sirius claimed a seat next to Roseberry and waited for the others to sit before leaping up. "First round's on me," he said as he ran up to the bar.

Sirius kept glancing over his shoulder at the table as he waited impatiently for the five butterbeers. Remus had leaned over and was deep in conversation with Roseberry. She smiled warmly at him and laughed. Since when has bookish old Moony ever been such a laugh? thought Sirius bitterly. He snatched up the butterbeers and made his way back to the table. Sirius set the butterbeers down in the center of the table and took two, settling himself down between Roseberry and Remus. He placed one of the butterbeers in front of the girl and gave her his most winning smile. "Try it," he urged.

Roseberry gave the drink a tentative sip, "You're right. It is delicious! Thank you, Sirius."

Sirius grinned at her, but again was at a loss for words. His face fell as Remus leaned forward and directed a question past him, "Have you tried the Patronus Charm?"

"Yes! I practiced all last year. My patronus is a long-haired cat," said Roseberry excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "My latest project is performing directed wandless magic. I can do a few protective charms and simple spells…lumos, incendio, aguamenti…."

"We can practice together, if you'd like," replied Remus. "I haven't been able to do much in the way of wandless magic either."

After finishing their butterbeers, the group left the Three Broomsticks and made their way to Honeydukes. They had gotten halfway to the shop when James tensed up. A rowdy group of Slytherins stood in the middle of the street. A tall, gawky, greasy-haired youth; a large brawny teen; and a shifty, malicious-looking lout stood admiringly around a tall, handsome, well-dressed young man with long blonde hair.

"Look who's back to recruit some more Death Eaters," James growled. The others looked down the street to where James was glaring. The dapper blonde looked up, surprise flickering briefly in his eyes. Lucius Malfoy grinned menacingly as he strutted up the street.

Sirius heard a soft growl coming from behind him. Roseberry pushed past the boys wielding her wand, "Don't you dare come any closer, Malfoy."

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the charming and beautiful young American witch. Why so reserved, my dear? Aren't we a bit…intimate…for such formalities? Or will you only call me Lucius when I'm pressed up against you in the dark?"

Sirius felt a tug of rage and jealousy. He saw James's mouth drop open. Roseberry's eyes flashed and her face darkened with anger as Lucius's doting groupies snickered.

"A pity things ended before we could get any more…familiar…isn't it? Perhaps that can be remedied."

Lucius attempted to disarm her, but Roseberry blocked him skillfully with her wandless left hand as she waved her wand with her right, "Everte Statum!"

Lucius flew backwards and landed in a muddy puddle. The three Slytherins drew their wands, but the Gryffindors were battle-ready and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the furious young woman.

Lucius picked himself up and held out his hand to stay the wands of the Slytherin boys. He walked fearlessly up to her, wand stashed and hands up in mock defeat. He lowered his face so that he was inches from hers, "For old time's sake?" His lips barely brushed hers before her wand was at his throat, pushing him back. He laughed superciliously, turning to walk away. "Don't worry, my sweet. The Dark Lord will take care of you," he tossed over his shoulder. "I just hope he leaves enough for me once he's done."

The Gryffindors did not lower their wands until Lucius and his band of Slytherins had rounded the corner.

"What was that all about?" demanded James.

"Lucius and I started dating last winter. He was supposedly on an internship exchange program in the States. I didn't know that he was a Death Eater until this summer. We had a rather nasty falling-out when I broke it off with him."

"Lucius Malfoy!" declared James in disgust. "I mean, I know you have odd taste in men. Take your penchant for Muggle boys, for example, but Lucius Malfoy?"

Roseberry looked rather sheepish, "He can be quite charming, thank you. Besides, I can't help that I have a soft spot for devastatingly handsome, if somewhat arrogant, rebels."

"I didn't peg you for a dark wizard lover!" snarled James.

"I told you, I didn't know. I dumped him the minute I found out. It didn't end amiably, obviously."

"Well, perhaps you wouldn't get yourself into these situations if you had the sense to find a sweet, good-natured, intelligent boy to go out with instead of your 'handsome rebels'."

She sighed, looking dejected. "In any case, thanks for backing me up. I really appreciate it."

James's face softened, "I'm sorry for being so harsh. I'm just worried about you. Come on, let's go to Honeydukes."

Roseberry looked more cheerful with each step toward the sweetshop. She looked wide-eyed around at the dazzling array of candies. "I've never seen anything quite like it!" she said in awe.

Remus held up a chocolate bar, "All these charmed sweets, but it's chocolate, in the end, that serves as a remedy to dementor attacks."

"So I've heard," grinned Roseberry, "although I'm partial to chocolate frogs. Best of both worlds, you know."

Sirius, upon hearing this, ran up to the counter to purchase a box of chocolate frogs.

"For you," he said gallantly, as he pressed it into her hands.

"Oh," said Roseberry in surprise. "Thank you. You really didn't have to—"

"I wanted to," said Sirius, awkwardly squeezing her arm. "You've been through enough this summer. You deserve a bit of happiness."

Roseberry's eyes welled up in gratitude and she stepped forward to give him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. She stepped back, blushing, before he had the chance to hug her back. "I'm sorry. I'm being such a Molly Maudlin today. Thank you for the candy."

.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.

Sirius relived the hug and kiss over and over in his mind that night. Quick though it was, he could still remember the softness of her touch, the faint flowery scent of her hair under his nose, the warmth of her lips on his cheek. He wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through her shiny hair. Silky, for sure…soft. He wondered how she would respond. He tried to imagine her face. Her eyelids half-closed, her lips parted. Would she say anything? Whisper his name, perhaps? He fell asleep with her name on his lips, imagining the sweet sound of her voice whispering his name in the dark.