Chapter: I'd Be Lying If I Told You

Shalan's Say: Okay… so… Alina was introduced last chapter. She's a wee bit like Hermione, I sort of wanted her to be that way because in the books Lupin has a touch of a soft spot for Hermione. (No, I do not like creepy pedophile pairings) Only Hermione wouldn't like her… you'll see why very soon XDDDD

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"So how long have you been one?" Her blue eyes sparkled in the daylight flooded common room. He couldn't do anything but stare at her.

"How-how long have I been what?" He stuttered, glancing around the common room for something, anything that could get him out of this situation. Unfortunately there were no students in the common room, nor was there anything he could summon to knock himself out.

"You know what I mean," her eyes were glimmering with something crossed between fascination and curiosity. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. She had figured him out, was there a way out of this? "It gives me a lot of hope," she whispered, leaning forward. He felt his heart jump into his throat. What on earth? What he was gave her hope?

"Ho-hope?" He choked. There was no denying it now. Maybe he could keep her in one place long enough to erase her memory.

"Yes, seeing you sitting here before me gives me hope that one day my brother might be able to do the same…" she took one of his hands in both of hers "Remus, I'm not scared of you," he relaxed, his eyes meeting hers. His brown eyes bored into her blue, searching for some inkling of fear or terror yet found none. What he saw there was a tangled mess of admiration and hope.

"How-how long have you known?" He felt his heart flutter against his chest as her soft hands gently caressed his palm.

"I only just figured it out…" she said honestly, examining his hand and forearm with some interest. "I like hands, they're a good way to learn a lot about people…" she stated as her fingers traced his love line. "You're going to fall in love twice…" she muttered "…I think," she ran her thumb over his life line. "Oh…" her eyes darkened. He resisted the urge to jerk his hand back. He knew she was a good diviner, he didn't want to hear what she had read.

"Are you going to tell the other students?" He leaned in a little bit. She looked up from his palm.

"No, why would I do that?" Her eyes searched his.

"Then you'll keep it a secret to your grave?" He lifted an eyebrow. She nodded solemnly.

"Unless you tell me it's okay to discuss it, just knowing that there's hope for my brother gives me so much more joy than you can understand…" A flush crept into his cheeks as she squeezed his hand lightly.

"Are you a Seer?" The thought occurred to him as he watched the iridescent irises of her eyes shimmer from azure blue to deep indigo and spiraling back out into a glimmering aqua. How had he not noticed her eyes? How had he not noticed a lot of things about her?

"That, Remus, is another thing that we shall keep between us," she smiled softly and sadly. He understood immediately. True Seers were very, very rare… her ability was something she had to keep secret because it was sought after by nearly everyone. Being able to tell the true future was a gift that came with a terrible curse, as every single human on Earth wanted to know their future…

"He wants you to join him doesn't he?" Remus's eyes grew dark. She simply nodded her head silently, drawing her hands back from his. Her power in the hands of Lord Voldemort. He shuddered at the thought.

"Please, please Remus don't tell anyone." She begged, her eyes filled with fear. Trading secrets for secrets, he smiled wryly.

"I won't I promise, does Lily know?" Remus tilted his head.

"Yes, she figured it out after our second Divination class…"

"Well Lily Evans is one of the cleverest witches we know, I wouldn't accept any other answer," Remus nodded then grinned. "Let's drop this secret topic and move on to something else… a secret for a secret… I'll keep yours if you keep mine…"

"Deal," Alina smiled.

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She paced her dorm impatiently, her curls now drooping slightly. There was no possible way that this was happening. How could she let him know? Why didn't she just tell him that he was crazy?

"Because I know his secret," she spoke to herself out loud.

"You know who's secret?" Alina nearly jumped out of her skin and onto the ceiling.

"Uhm… no-nothing," Lily eyed her curiously, pulling off her cloak. Her face was still flushed with the cold, but she was smiling brightly, her green eyes sparkling with delight.

"Alina! I think I'm dating James Potter!" Alina could only stare at her.

"Pardon?" She could have sworn she had misheard her.

"I… think I'm dating James," she tossed herself onto her bed. Alina was torn between smiling at her friend's joyful face and frowning because someone else knew her secret… it ended up looking a little like a psychotic grimace.

"Wow, that's amazing…" Alina sounded less than pleased. Lily sat up and watched her roommate pace around the room.

"What happened?" Lily furrowed her brows, reaching for Alina's hand as she walked by.

"I told Remus my secret!" Alina was nearly in tears. Lily was floored. The girl had kept that secret closer than anything else in her life.

"Well-I…" Lily broke off as a beautiful owl landed on the window. It clicked its beak impatiently then hopped in as Alina opened the window.

"It's addressed to me," Alina frowned then unrolled the parchment.

Miss Caron,

We need to talk. Please come to my office at precisely 10 PM, please bring with you Mr. Lupin, he will be waiting for you in the Gryffindor common room.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster

PS. I rather enjoy acid pops.

"D-Dumbledore wants to see me…" Alina felt a flush rise in her face. Lily had her turn to simply stare at her friend.

"Is it because you told Remus what you were?" Lily wondered out loud.

"I… I hope not," Alina was nearly shivering.

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Mariette stared off into the distance, wondering if he would come tonight, maybe they had spent all day together… but she still hoped, desperately. The little Siamese cat purred in her arms as she folded herself beneath the heavy down blanket.

"I thought you weren't going to come," she looked up as a voice spoke from behind her.

"Sirius!" She smiled as her chest filled with warmth. He dropped down next to her. "Here come under the blanket." He snuggled up next to her, kissing her cheek lightly.

"So, Head Girl, I thought you said you didn't do dastardly things like sneak out of your dormitory." He pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I only do when it involves you," she chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "I had a great time with you today, Sirius." She closed her eyes.

"Mariette, what are you doing for the Christmas holidays?" She jolted upright, staring at him, her eyes wide.

"Wha-what am I doing? What do you mean?" Her cheeks flushed, there was no way Sirius Black was asking her home with him. If the Blacks saw her, if they knew she was with him, she shuddered.

"I mean, I'd have to check with James' parents but I mean if you want to come with us and celebrate," suddenly sound flooded back into her world.

"James' parents? You don't mean you live with James, do you?" Her lips parted slightly in curiosity and he smiled, poking the place between her eyebrows.

"Of course I do, my parents hate me for a number of reasons so I don't live with them anymore," Sirius chuckled. "I'm sure they'd be fine with it. James is going to ask Lily so I figure they won't mind if I ask you over."

"Yes, yes of course I'll come!" She pummeled into him, wrapping her arms around him.

"G-good!" Sirius laughed as he placed a hand on the back of her head, laughing as she buried her face in his neck. "I was worried that you'd say no."

"Why would I say no, idiot?" She kissed his neck. "I would never say no to something like that," he lifted her chin, kissing her lips tenderly. "Sirius…"

"I think… you put a spell on me… have you been putting love potions in my food? Because I'm tumbling head over heels for you…" he whispered, caressing the side of her face with his hand.

"Idiot, you've only known me," their lips met again, "for a couple of months." She seemed to lose all coherent thought as he kissed all of her protests out of her mind.

"That's long enough," he mused as her fingers tangled through his hair.

"Herd of turtles," she cackled as they tumbled to the floor of the tower.

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Remus traced the carpet of the common room with the toe of his shoe as he waited, he couldn't fathom why he had been summoned, much less why he had been summoned with Alina.

"Sorry for making you wait Remus!" She came bustling down the stairs. His face flushed as he noticed that she was wearing her pajamas beneath her Hogwarts robe. For some reason wearing his pajamas while she was made him blush, he felt like an idiot.

"It's quite alright!" Her eyes were currently a deep navy blue, he assumed it was the color of worry. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back from her face in a curling ponytail, her bangs brushing her forehead.

"Shall we be on our way?" Remus pushed the portrait open and let her walk out ahead of him. He found himself watching her rear as they walked a short ways, he swallowed… hard.

"Well don't dally!" She laughed and he jumpstarted, catching up to her fast pace at a gallop. "What is up with you tonight, Remus?" She chuckled. "You're so silly," she giggled behind her hand. Her giggle was so cute, he scratched his cheek with a nervous laugh. He had been fine this afternoon… how had it come to this?

"So why do you think he called us?" Remus asked out loud.

"It's Dumbledore, one never knows… but I bet it has something to do with us both being special." She smiled softly. "Remus, have you really told no one else about it?"

"James, Sirius and Peter." He leaned over and whispered to her, she flushed as his lips came so close to her ear. "Please don't tell Dumbledore," he shrugged.

"No worries," she smiled. "I promised I wouldn't tell." She stopped in front of the entrance to the headmaster's office. "Acid pops." She sang. Their conversation became easier as they stepped up toward Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, good evening," Dumbledore smiled at them from his desk. "How are you both?"

"Great," they answered in unison and immediately flushed red. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled from behind his spectacles as he looked between them.

"Good, Miss Caron, will you please step outside? I would like you to take care of some business for me in a moment." She nodded and stepped out of the room. She sat down on the landing and folded her legs, leaning her head against the wall.

It seemed like hours passed before Remus stepped back out of the office. He smiled as he noticed that she had fallen asleep. "Alina," he whispered, shaking her gently. "Alina you need to go speak with Dumbledore." She stirred and stood with his help. "Do you want me to wait here for you?"

"No, go ahead to your dorm if you want, I can take care of myself." She smiled, yawning.

"I'll wait for you at the bottom." He made to step down but she gripped his shoulder.

"When Dumbledore calls me like this usually it means he wants me to do a reading. You might be better going to the dorms." She let go of him, a flush rising in her cheeks as she noticed what she was doing.

"I'll wait for you," he smiled then disappeared down the stairs.

He stared out the window as he leaned on the railing. She had been up there for nearly an hour now, he half wondered if maybe he really should go back to the dormitory.

"Remus?" He started as she walked up behind him. "You really did stay," she smiled. "I'm surprised."

"Oh, yeah," he couldn't help himself, his gaze fell on her and his heart stopped. She was bathed in the half-moonlight from the gibbous and she looked scintillating. "Alina, I-" he broke off as she rose on her toes and kissed him. It was a tender little kiss, just a peck on the lips, but it made his blood boil.

"I had to, I'm sorry," she placed a hand on the side of his face. "Did I do something wr-" he wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her on the mouth so hard her head spun. The box of tarot cards that she had been carrying in her hand dropped to the ground, spilling across the stone floor of the castle. Even if it was wrong, even if it was dangerous, even if it would end in tragedy… she didn't care at this moment in time… out of the corner of her eye, just before she closed them, she saw the card that had fallen on top.

The Chariot. The danger of being pulled away by something out of your control.

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So… that's that chapter. SORRY THERE WAS NO JAMES AND LILY! Lots of James and Lily in the next chapter I PROOOMISE!

READ AND REVIEW PLEAAASE!

Shalan.