She thought her life was over – but fate gave her another chance, in a world of magic. Now, running around Hogwarts with James Potter and his friends, she's about to make choices that will change the future in ways she never thought possible…

Marauder's Phase

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TEN

Sirius' Promise

I lay on the cold ground, the frost biting at my white wolf fur, and looking around with night-vision wolf eyes. I was tense and I was ready, and I was expecting to be attacked at any second. And, since I have absolutely no concept of time whatsoever, I didn't know how long I lay there for, until I heard someone's approach.

Tensely, I stood up, glaring into the darkness with yellow eyes, expecting to see a Death Eater or, worse, Voldemort himself. I'd heard a few indicators of a battle before, and only hoped that the Aurors had come to chase off the Death Eaters.

I dug my claws into the snow…

Suddenly, the padding sound stopped, and I turned to my right to see a huge black dog staring at me with dark eyes.

For a long time, neither of us moved.

Then, in the same instant, both of us transformed back into humans.

"I finally found you," Sirius said, with a mixture of triumph and relief in his voice.

I stared at him for the longest time, before asking: "What happened?"

Sirius looked right at me. "The Death Eaters came – I'm assuming that's why you ran?" I nodded. "The Aurors pretty much took care of them. Nobody's sure how they knew where to find you…"

I paused. Should I tell him or not? But…if I told on Bellatrix…then that might get Regulus arrested too…or worse…I closed my eyes.

"Em?" Sirius was suddenly right in front of me, and I felt his arms wrap around me. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"Aside from being THIS close to being attacked by Death Eaters today AND hearing your mother's dying words…nothing." I said into his chest, wishing we could just stand like this forever.

Sirius was silent for a moment, before saying quietly: "My mother is dead?"

"Yes." I replied, my voice muffled by his chest. "I was with her when she died…she said…she said that I…"

"What did she say?" Sirius asked me, suddenly holding me at arm's length. "Em…wait, what's the matter!"

Tears were gathering in my eyes, and there wasn't a thing I could do to stop them from falling. "It's not important," I said, my voice shaking, as I drew my hand across my face to get rid of the tears. "I won't get the chance to anyway, since…since…" 'Since you and Reg will BOTH be out of my life soon…' "It's just that I've…" Suddenly, and without warning, I threw my arms around Sirius. "Missed you so Goddamn much, Sirius Black! And I feel so emo for crying like this, but…avoiding you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do…and I don't want to do it anymore, I WON'T!" My shoulders were shaking by this time. "I can't…but…I have to stay here with Reg…for the funeral…"

Sirius froze for a fraction of second. "You…want to go to that? Because of…brother?"

"I…it's what friends do. I am…supporting my friend." I said finally, drawing away from him, but he moved with me. "What?" I asked him.

He touched a hand to the side of my face, where the tear tracks were. "Then I'm staying with you. You're not staying here with him." And suddenly I realised that he was jealous, probably very jealous, of my friendship with Regulus, and possibly reading it as more and wondering if he could trust me or not.

And I myself wasn't sure if it was more, or not.