Author's note:

Merry Christmas! Sorry about not having much interactions with the other supporting characters. I'll try to fix that. Also i said earlier that Adhara will realize her feels for Remus in a couple of chapters but I realized the pace I am going with this story that it is going to take a bit more than few chapters. This is going to be a sloooooow burn. I want them to be friends first. Also, in these next few chapters, it's going to be focused more on Remus' friendship with James, Sirius,and Peter along with a short section of Adhara and Sirius' sibling problems. I hope you like it! Please tell me your thoughts. I am very motivated with feedback!


A best friend

won't agree with

you to make you

happy. If anything,

they'll say what

needs to be said,

no matter if you want

to hear it

or not.


Now this was a turn for events. What she fears the most is her father? She has never been afraid of him. When she was younger, he was her refuge when she was scared—and when her brother was not available.

Adhara couldn't even move. Her mind was moving so fast to understand why her father was her boggart, that the spell to get rid of it was out the window.

"How could you," he seethed. His sharp gray eyes narrowed even more. His voice was naturally loud and deep so when he yelled at her Adhara swore that the room shook. "You betrayed us!"

Adhara was ready to deny whatever he was accusing her of before the boggart changed to something else. Her father was still there but the boggart created more. Now standing in front of her was a few members of her family. Her mother and brother. Her aunt and her children Narcissa and Bellatrix.

"Blood traitor," they chanted.


Remus didn't care that his house would be taken points with helping Adhara with this. She was shaking like a leaf yet still in place. The werewolf knew what could happen to a person when standing in front of their worst fear. Remus never knew he feared werewolves as much until he saw one right in front of him in his bedroom a few years ago. He didn't run or scream. To be honest, he pissed his pants and frozen in his bed before he got bitten.

Remus dragged the Hufflepuff behind him before yelling, "Ridikulus," at the boggart. Each one of the members of Black turned into piles of dung causing the awkward atmosphere in the classroom to turn to laughter.

The boggart then altered into what Remus was prepared for since the beginning. It wasn't just any werewolf. It was Fenrir Greyback in his feral form. He could hear the class gasp. Remus must have been too slow since someone helped him out. "Riddikulus," Adhara's voice was firm and unwavering.

"You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah, and thank you for…ya know, before," she said quietly.

"Well, that was quite the show," Professor Blackwood was clearly amused. It wasn't as if no one liked this teacher. She's the best one they had in their three years that they've been here. "Remus, you've earned ten points for being…so chivalrous for the damsel in distress." Remus didn't feel like much of a knight in shining armor because of how condescending their teacher sounded. Professor Blackwood then turned to the Hufflepuff. "Black, you just earned yourself a date with me tonight. And be prepared to face your boggart." And with that, the class was dismissed.

"Merlin, are you okay?" Lily didn't waste any time in making sure two of her friends were okay. Her blue eyes wide and searching the two for any hint of that would need comfort. Remus was a master at hiding it so he smiled and reassured her. It took too long for the Pureblooded Hufflepuff to answer so the redhead engulfed the shorter girl into a hug. "That was intense. Your family, I assume?" she asked Adhara Then the Gryffindor looked down at Adhara's arm that was still in Remus' grasp. "Um, Remus?"

"Yeah." She signaled with her eyes that his hand was still holding the girl's arm. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Adhara finally looked up at him. Her eyes were now clear and staring at him as if he saved her from something much worse than her own family. "Thank you, Remus," and before he could reply that it was nothing, she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down into a hug—and kissed him on the cheek. It was too quick for him to relish in the feel of her lips against his burning cheek. Remus was gifted with the sight of Adhara so flustered at her own actions, that she scampered away from the two Gryffindors.

"Your boggart was pretty horrifying," Lily mentioned. Remus thought that she would walk away and forget about the sight of a werewolf but she was too curious to let that go. "It's interesting that Addie can cast that away but not her own family."

Remus shrugged. "Maybe that's because it is not her worst fear. And maybe she wanted to help me out," he said. "It shows that she knows the spell."

"Yeah, but it doesn't help when she can't cast it on her own boggart," she retorted. Remus had to agree. But then again, he didn't do the same with his own and yet Professor Blackwood didn't give him detention for it. He always knew that the teacher held some contempt for Adhara since she is one of the worse in the class.

Remus was ready to leave but Lily caught him by the arm. "So…" she nudged him on the shoulder.

"So…" he mimics her. "Do you have something to say?"

"Don't act stupid," she rolls her eyes. "That kiss," she waves her hand. "The way she kissed you, you would have thought she snogged you in front of everyone." Remus honestly didn't know what to say to that. So he shrugged.

"Come on," she scoffed. "Your face is as red as a tomato. You so fancy Addie."

Curse Lily to be so perceptive. Even on someone, she doesn't know that well since she avoids anyone who's friends with Sirius and James. He was taking too long to answer and that was as good as anything equaling 'yes' to Lily since she squealed. As quick as she was to realize his feelings for Adhara, she quickly deflated. "Aw, man, she fancies someone else," she muttered to herself.

"I know," Remus shrugs. He forced himself to smile since he hated the way Lily stared at him as if he was a kicked puppy. That's why he tried not to be obvious with his interest in the Hufflepuff.

"But Fabian is an outright git," Lily voiced her concerns. "Just like Sirius and James. I think you would be a better—

"Well, isn't it the lovely Lily-flower," thank Merlin for James need for attention. James wrapped an arm around the werewolf. "So what are we talking about?"

Lily didn't even bother giving him an answer. "We'll talk later, Remus."

We will not, he thought as he walked with James and Peter.

"So what the hell was that with Sirius being afraid of his sister?" James laughs. For someone who is the closest with Sirius, he sure is quick to tease his best friend about his boggart. "Oh, he is so not getting away with this."

"James," Remus stopped walking. James may be his best friend but so was Sirius and he was not going to let him get away with this. That's why James keeps Remus and Sirius around most of the time compared to other Gryffindors. Besides the pranking and quidditch-talk, both the boys were not afraid to talk back to James. Peter was an exception since both Pureblooded Gryffindors liked having a friend who looked at them as if they were gods.

"What?"

"I'm going to need you to shut up," he said. Voice firm; not too harsh but not nice enough to not have James mistake him for joking with him.

"Come again?"

"Sirius is my friend," Remus said like that was explanation enough.

"And he is mine's," James shrugged.

"Then act like it," he reprimands James. "We may joke around with each other but you need to read the mood. What happened earlier with Sirius' boggart is far deeper than your taunting."

"We always tease each other," again he shrugged. Someone needed to knock some sense into James.

"Yeah but…" Remus tried to find the right words to explain. "There are some things you tease people about and some you don't. And you should have known that his family—Adhara—is a touchy subject."

"He's just embarrassed," James waved it off. Of course, James doesn't see it. He's just as insensitive as the next thirteen-year-old boy. "He'll be throwing a hex at me the next time we see him for laughing at him."

James was wrong. For the first time in three years, Sirius was avoiding them. He didn't come to class for the rest of the day. He skipped lunch which caused the group of boys to worry. Remus knew that James was just as worried but was hiding it behind horrible jokes and ranting on about the upcoming quidditch season.

The full moon was close. A headache was already forming so Remus decided to make his way to the infirmary.

"Remus," a voice behind him called out. He turned around to see Adhara running after him—with a black Kneazle following. The creature narrowed its eyes at the Gryffindor as if he's an enemy. It could probably smell what kind of breed he was.

"Hey, did you need anything?" It's not every day that Adhara seeks him out. And runs after him, too.

"Oh, um, yeah," she laughed nervously. "I…wanted to talk to you about Sirius."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," she said. "I would go to James but you saw how rude he was earlier. So I thought I could get some help from you."

"You need help talking to your brother?" he raised an eyebrow.

Adhara responded with a groan and covered her face with both of her hands. "I know. How silly but Sirius is not about talking about his feelings. You should know that, right?"

Remus agreed. Sirius never brought up anything that was too close to home besides his sister. He would shut down when James teased him about his parents being cousins.

"Okay. So how should I go about this," she asked. Adhara leaned against the brick wall waiting for his advice.

Remus went into deep thought. Adhara should know how to deal with Sirius more than himself but she doesn't spend as much time with him as she uses to. If anything Remus and the others have been there more through Sirius' adolescent years than Adhara. Showing a different side compared to when he's with his family. Adhara might think he's changed in the last three years since they first started going to Hogwarts.

His thoughts went back to why Adhara was Sirius' boggart. It didn't make much sense to him at first but the more he thought about it…it was started to connect. Why he was always having a row with Adhara when it came to who her friends were. How she didn't depend him as much as she did their first year. If anything, it was Sirius who dragged her over to his table half the time.

"Am I that scary?" he hears Adhara whisper. He could tell she was trying to crack a joke.

"No," he chuckled.

"Then why?"

"You know he got rid of his boggart before it could even say anything," Remus noted.

"Does that matter?"

"I think so," he nods. "It could help you figure out why if he let it talk.," he paused when a thought popped into his mind. "Like when your family appeared. We wouldn't understand why you feared them until they spoken." Remus hated that he caused her to pale at the thought of her own family. "Sorry, I brought them up."

"No," she said quickly. "It's fine."

"Did that help?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "A little bit. So how should I approach him?"

"How about I go talk to him?" he offered.

"Merlin, that would be brilliant," she said. "Thank you. And thank you for helping me out."

"No problem," he shrugged. "And thanks for helping me out, too. Though I think it silly you are serving detention instead of it being the both of us."

"I don't think she likes me very much," she admitted. "But you're right. Alice told me I should have gotten points too since your boggart was far more frightening than mine's—merlin, it was the scariest out of the whole class." Remus wished that she wouldn't have brought it up. He wanted to avoid questions of why a werewolf was his boggart.

"We don't have to talk about," she sensed the mood change. "It's not like we talk that much, to begin with. We're barely friends." Her eyes now fixed on her pet that was nuzzling against her ankles.

"We could be," Remus said quickly. He hurried and added, "I'm best mates with your brother and your good friends with James. It would be pretty odd if we're not friends." The more he spoke the more he felt his face heat up. He really wanted the floor to swallow him up.

But by some miracle, he was gifted with a gleaming smile from the Hufflepuff. "Friends. I would like that," she held out her hand.

Remus smirked. "I'm not going to kiss your hand like Higgs," he teased before shaking it. Squeezed it lightly and finally let go, already missing the soft skin against his.

She gaped at him. "I don't ask for it. He's so old fashion," she shuddered.

Remus liked this. Teasing and talking like they've been friends for years.

As if reading his thoughts, she said, "It is odd that we never talk that much when my brother is best mates with you." Adhara then scoops up her Kneazle and nuzzle him into her neck. "Rigel and I would not hold you any longer. See you later."

"Later."


"I don't want to talk about it," was the first words that Sirius said when Remus walked into their shared room. Remus was taken back that the Pureblood was the first to initiate.

"You should be happy that James is not with me to tease you," Remus retorted. He sighed. "Sometimes he can be a prat."

"Sometimes?" Remus could hear the smile through his words. He approached Sirius' bed. He was facing away from him, curled up with his bright red blanket wrapped around his body.

"Okay all the time but he has his good qualities too," Remus said. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, please tell me why I am friends with him because I seemed to have forgotten after what happened in class," Sirius requested.

"Hm, I don't feel like stroking his ego today since I'm a bit pissed at him," Remus admitted. That caught the boy's attention. Sirius only turned his head, peeking from his mop of black hair.

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't know when somethings are not to be teased about," Remus said like it was obvious. This is the moment. Never have the four of them ever talked 'seriously'. It was all about pranks, cute girls, food, and quidditch. Never about the serious topics. Never about feelings and what they were afraid of.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Remus added. "I have my secrets and you can have yours. But Adhara is worried."

"Ugh."

"The more you avoid your sister the more anxious she is," he tells Sirius.

"Why'd she go to you?" Sirius said. "Let me guess. She's pissed at James."

"Won't even look at him," Remus laughed.

Sirius finally flipped over so that he was facing Remus. "I don't even know why she was my boggart. That was a kick in the gut to me."

"It was going to say something," Remus mentioned. "Did you know what."

Sirius hesitated before answering, "I think so."

"Do you want to tell what you think it was going to say?" Remus said, patiently. Who knew he was the counselor in the group? "You don't have to," he added.

Sirius took a couple of deep breaths. "At the moment I didn't know," he said. "I just wanted to get rid of it before it said something humiliating. But," he paused. "After a while, I realized what it could have said."

Remus waited.

"I thought she was going to say that she don't need me anymore," Sirius muttered. His eyes focused on his fidgeting hands. Remus was not use to this. It was odd seeing is usually cocky friend now nervous speaking so quietly. Sirius finally looks up at him. "You don't look surprised."

"I figured it was something like that," Remus didn't bother to sound sorry about being perceptive. "Because Adhara is anything but intimidating."

Remus felt the tension in the room disappear when Sirius chortled, trying not to laugh.

"I think you should tell her this," Remus said. Sirius was about to deny him but stopped when Remus held his hand up. "This is your sister. You should hide stuff like this from her. If anything this could help fix why you're always fighting with her every time she makes a friend you don't like."

"Come on," Sirius scoffed. "Snape and Higgs? Fabian? Why the hell is she making male friends anyways?"

"Don't change the subject," Remus said.

"That is part of the subject," Sirius rolls his eyes. "But, fine. I'll talk to her about it."

"Good," Remus shoved him lightly on the shoulder before walking over to his bed.

"This is the last time I'm 'opening' my heart up," Sirius warned him.

"Not even to James?"

"Especially not to him," Sirius emphasizes. "He'll call me a bird for even trying to have a heart to heart."

"James is still an eight-year-old in there," Remus said.

"Yeah, but he's my eight-year-old of a best mate," Sirius sighed. "Thanks, Remus."