A/N: I apologize it has taken SOOO long to update this story. I've been busy with my other stories lately, not to mention holiday stuff, family stuff, school stuff, etc. but it's finally here! The next chapter! Yayyy.

I wanted to quickly address the review from Hushpuppy. I always appreciate constructive criticism, but I want to explain why I have portrayed Snape the way I have. This story, while being told in third person perspective, is still essentially from Lily Luna's point of view. In her mind, Severus Snape was a war hero. He was the wizard who loved her grandmother and saved her father's life. Of course she defends him and looks up to him for that. However, in my story, Snape himself said that he was into the Dark Arts, and it's obvious that all of the Marauders were upset when Luna mentioned her friendship with him. They were shocked that Snape stood up for her, and the reason why he stood up for her is because she reminds him of Lily Evans. Yes, Snape wanted to be a Death Eater and he was power hungry, but that wasn't ALL he was. He was a conflicted and messed up kid who wanted both love (or Lily Evans) and power. In the end he chose power, but he was still conflicted about it. I hope this clears up any confusion you have as to Snape's character. You will see more of his darker side, even in this chapter it comes out a bit. But you will see his softer side, too, because it is there. Even if it's usually hidden.

I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter as much as I do! Thank you so much for all of the amazing reviews!

….

"Oh Merlin this is boring," Lily Luna stared at Professor McGonagall with her mouth hanging open.

"You could say that again," said Sirius in agreement. Luna groaned.

She wondered yet again how on earth she ended up sitting at a table with James and Sirius. Remus was a table away, sitting with Lily Evans. Luna didn't know which was worse; McGonagall repeating for the third bloody time how important their NEWTs were, or the way Sirius kept looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Being the mysterious new girl to the entire school had it's pros and cons. A con was that she was now under intense scrutiny by nearly everyone. A pro was that she was very popular, which was something she was used to. It felt almost like home as people gazed at her in admiration as she walked up and down the corridors. It seemed that Lily Luna Potter simply wasn't destined to be considered normal. Not even in a different time.

"Tell me again why we couldn't skive off Transfiguration," James mumbled to Sirius.

"We skived off Transfiguration twice last week. The only reason old Minnie lets us get away with it is because she knows we don't need to be here. We should have signed up to take our N.E.W.T.'s early, like Snivellus, er, I mean…Snape did." Sirius said the name of his enemy grudgingly but Luna gave a jerky nod of approval.

James glanced over at Lily Evans and it was obvious what his reasons were for not opting to take his N.E.W.T.'s in January. It was also obvious that Sirius followed James' lead. Luna doubted she had ever seen two closer friends. "Miss Granger," McGonagall called suddenly, causing Luna's head to snap up at the sound of her fake name.

"Yes, Ma'm?" Luna stood up as she addressed the professor.

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but it seemed like you were on the verge of dozing off there. Is my lecture boring you?"

"Not at all," she smirked, "I was listening intently for any mistakes, but you seem to know what you're talking about."

The class made a collective "Oooh," sound. On her right side, James groaned. On her left side, Sirius barely managed to cover a laugh with a cough. In front of her, McGonagall turned beet red with anger and her lips thinned into near nonexistence. "If you are a professional on the subject," McGonagall's voice was shaking with rage, "then human transfiguration should be no problem for you. Go on then, astound me." Her blazing eyes narrowed on the teenager, but Luna didn't flinch.

She cleared her throat, brandished her wand, and with a sharp flick the entire classroom was void of students, they had all been replaced by large cows. McGonagall said nothing as she examined the cow closest to her, who had previously been Alice Fortescue. Although she didn't say anything aloud, Luna knew what she was thinking. It was impressive enough to turn one person into a cow. Even more impressive that she'd performed the spell silently. Yet even more impressive that she had somehow managed to turn the entire class into cows (aside from herself). The cows were flawless. The larger and more complex the animal, the harder it was to transfigure a person into it. The fact that cows were such a large mammal, not to mention had four stomachs, had McGonagall caught between being impressed and being very, very cross.

"Very well," she said, "but can you put them back?"

Luna nodded, repeated the wand motion, and her classmates had returned. "Blimey," said Sirius as he rubbed his jaw, "it's nice to not have the urge to chew on some grass."

A few people chuckled weakly. Most were just happy to be human again. "Detention, Miss Granger." Luna sighed, she had expected as much. The bell rang then and chairs scraped against the floor as the class scrambled to leave.

"Where did you learn that?" asked James, sounding impressed.

"I have a great aunt who used to teach Transfiguration at a wizarding school. She's been working with me ever since I first showed any signs of magical talent. If that had been Charms class, however, I probably would have made an idiot of myself. That's my worst subject, you know."

"Ah no, it looks like some Hufflepuffs are bullying Peter again," James said to no one in particular as he gazed at the short chubby boy who was being shoved against the wall so forcefully that his feet left the ground. For just a moment Luna felt pity, but it vanished just as quickly as it had come. "I'll go and rescue him then, shall I?" James straightened his robes and trotted off in that direction.

"Lucky for you," Sirius said as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, "I just so happen to tutor kids in Charms."

"Ha! I'm not so bad that I need a tutor," she said defensively.

"Are you sure?" Sirius inquired, his voice lowering an octave, "I would be more than happy to give you a few private lessons to make sure you're caught up on the subject." His tone was full of innuendos.

"I think I'll do just fine, thanks," in the crowded corridor, Luna jabbed an elbow into his ribcage and shoved past him, maneuvering through the masses until Sirius lost sight of her. She dodged into an alcove, waiting for Sirius to pass and she could make her way safely to lunch without him. Being around him was turning out to be bittersweet. She kind of liked the guy. But she shouldn't.

"Excuse me," said a voice over her shoulder. Luna jumped and nearly fell as she scrambled to turn around. She had been leaning back against what she had thought was a wall. She had been so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't even notice that it was much too warm and soft to be made of stone.

"Oh," she squeaked, her heart racing, "Severus, it's just you."

"What are you doing hiding in an alcove? If Nott is bothering you again, don't come running to me."

"No, no, it's nothing like that," she brushed off quickly. "Hang on," she stared up into his black eyes, "I'm a Gryffindor," she poked him hard in the chest, "I don't hide from people chasing me! Unless, of course, it's Filch or a professor and I'm in trouble…but that's aside from the point! Don't mistake me for some cowardly snake!"

"Cowardly?" Severus hissed the word and spun her around, pinning her against the wall, his fingers digging hard into her upper arms to the point of almost being painful. "I'm not a coward. If you want a coward, look at that pathetic excuse of a Gryffindor, Peter Pettigrew."

Far from being scared, Luna frowned calmly and said, "Alright, you have a point there."

"You…don't think much of Pettigrew?"

"No, I don't. Why would I?"

"Because….he's a Marauder," said Severus as he released her and took a small step back.

"So? That doesn't make him a god."

"At Hogwarts, it kind of does," Snape said with venom.

"You're kidding me right? I mean, he was just being shoved around by a group of fucking Hufflepuffs. If Potter hadn't saved his arse, he would have been in serious trouble. By a bunch of blokes in yellow-trimmed robes whose house mascot is a badger."

Severus laughed silently, his shoulders rising and falling, and he shook his head as if unsure what to make of what Luna had just said. "Don't think much of Hufflepuffs either?"

"They're not all bad," said Luna, thinking fondly of her ex-boyfriend, Lorcan Scamander, who was still one of her best friends, "It's just that, you know, in general, a fight between a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff should have an obvious outcome."

Snape was gazing at her with a cold calculating look. "Stay away from me, Granger."

"What? Where did that come from? Aren't we, you know, sort of friends?" she asked hopefully.

He snorted, "No, we're not. Just like the outcome of a battle between a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor is obvious, so is the outcome of a friendship between a snake and lion."

"Philosophical much, snake boy?" She raised her eyebrows at him, but continued speaking before he could make a retort, "What were you doing in this alcove anyway? Not exactly a comfy place to hang out, is it?"

By this time, the corridors had cleared and Luna emerged from the alcove, brushing off her robes and turning expectantly toward Severus. "Avoiding your Marauder mates. Not hiding from them," he was quick to assure her, "just avoiding them. Running into James Potter and Sirius Black in a crowded corridor is worth at least two tripping jinxes, three bloody noses, and detention. It's not worth my time to scuffle with them."

"I heard you're taking your N.E.W.T.'s early," said Luna.

Severus rolled his eyes, "We're not having a conversation, Granger. We're not even friends. Just shut up and we'll walk to the Great Hall in silence."

"Au contraire, my newest Hogwarts pal, I say we are having a conversation."

"Bullocks, you're pushy!"

"Yeah, I am, what are you going to do about it? Going to leave me dangling by my ankle?"

"I'm thinking about it," he grumbled.

"Come on then," she said in a sing-song way, "Why are you so anxious to get out of Hogwarts?" He didn't answer. She reached toward him, taking hold of his arm to get his attention and he snatched his arm back, looking affronted that she had touched him. Confusion creased her forehead for a moment, but then she noticed the way he was holding his left arm protectively against his chest. The way his eyes looked panicked and she gasped in understanding. He was already a Death Eater. And she had unknowingly grabbed for the arm where his Dark Mark was.

"Don't. Touch me." The words came out like velvet poison and for the first time Luna saw what he had been talking about before. When he had warned her that he knew more Dark Magic than the Marauders could dream of. Of course she had known there was a darker side of him, but quite frankly, she just didn't care.

"Can I see it?" The question was out of her mouth before she even realized she had asked it. Luna wasn't sure if she was more curious or disgusted. There were pictures of Dark Marks in her DADA textbook back home, but only drawings. No actual pictures had ever been taken of them. After the fall of Voldemort the Dark Marks were barely even visible upon the forearms of his followers. In a certain light after saying a certain spell they could be seen, but only as fuzzy outlines.

Surely, with Voldemort so powerful during this time, the Mark would be inky black against Severus's pale skin. "See what?" he said it like a reprimand. Warning her not to go further with her assumptions. But what he didn't realize is that they weren't assumptions.

"I know," she said quietly, "that you have it. I don't want to turn you in to the aurors or get you expelled from school. I'm just…morbidly curious what it looks like. What it's like to see something so Dark and evil etched permanently into your skin like a magical brand on your very soul," the last few words were whispered so low that Severus barely caught them.

"I'm sorry," he said without batting an eyelash, "but I've no idea what you're talking about." Without any warning, he spun around and was gone with a swish of a cloak, leaving Luna staring after him in a bit of a daze. She shook her head as if to clear it and walked shakily to the Great Hall. In a way, she was thankful that Severus hadn't shown her his Mark. After all, she had no idea how she would react to seeing the symbol of the Darkest wizard the world had ever known. A wizard who had personally attempted to murder her family, and succeeded in killing a few of them.

When she reached the Great Hall, everyone was eating lunch. Her free hour was after lunch so she wasn't worried about showing up halfway through the meal. She took a seat between Mary and Alice, who were chatting excitedly about their boyfriends. Trying so hard to be rid of her own thoughts, Luna threw herself into their conversation with fervor.

"Who are you dating then, Mary? Alice already told me all about her dear Frank," Luna helped herself to a glass of pumpkin juice as she studied the girl. Mary MacDonald was not a name that Luna had heard mentioned in her own time. What was this girl's fate then?

"Eric Crawley. He's in our year," she said this without much enthusiasm. Luna frowned. This didn't seem like normal girl behavior. Even though Luna had only ever had one serious boyfriend before, Lorcan Scamander, she had always told anyone who would listen about how wonderful he was. Mary, however, mentioned her boyfriend as if it were no big deal.

"Oh, what house is he in?" Luna politely inquired.

"Ravenclaw," she said the word dismissively and her eyes darted quickly to the side. Luna followed her gaze to where Remus Lupin was sitting, rolling his eyes at something James was saying.

"Yes," said Sirius suddenly interjecting into the girls' conversation, "our darling Mary is a traitorous lion indeed. Fraternizing with the Ravenclaw Seeker so intimately," he waggled his eyebrows at her and her cheeks flushed red.

"Sod off, Black," Lily Evans growled as she wedged herself onto the bench between Luna and Mary.

"I was just making an open observation," he defended as he reached across the table to swipe food off of Luna's plate. She ardently ignored him and grabbed another chicken leg from the platter on the table.

"What are we discussing?" James asked, bringing himself and Remus into the conversation.

"MacDonald's poor choice of boyfriend," said Sirius around a mouthful of chicken.

Mary was now staring pointedly at her lap, not even eating. "Shut up, Sirius," snapped Luna angrily, "Mary is at perfect liberty to date whoever she wants. If you don't like Eric that's fine because your opinion on the subject doesn't matter a fucking bit anyway."

"Actually," said Mary, raising her eyes to stare at Remus, "I can't date whoever I want." The next moment she was off of the bench and halfway across the room, exiting the Great Hall with as much haste as she could manage.

"I'm sorry," said Luna to the people around her, "I didn't mean to start anything. I was just asking about her boyfriend."

"Not your fault," said Sirius, helping himself to Luna's second chicken leg, "It's just-"

"Shut it, Black," snapped Lily.

"Untwist your knickers, Evans, it's not like it's a secret. MacDonald fancies Moony here, but he keeps turning her down. Not unlike what you do to Prongs, I might add," he gave her a daring look while waving the drumstick in her face.

"That's entirely different," sniffed Lily with indignation, "I turn Potter down because he's an arrogant, egotistical, prat. Moony turns MacDonald down because….well, I can't even think of a reason. Mary's a great girl, Remus!"

"Did you ever consider the fact that she's simply not his type?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Oi! The real question here is what makes me so arrogant and egotistical?" As James spoke, he ruffled his hair nonchalantly and waved away three sixth year girls who were swooning over him. Lily rolled her eyes, not even bothering to answer his question.

"He should at least give her a chance. That's all I'm saying," said Lily.

"Come on, Prongs," sighed Sirius, "We had better hurry on over to Muggle Studies. If we're late again it will mean detention with Walters and I can't take another evening of explaining to First Years what please-men do."

"It's police men, Black," said Lily with a chuckle, "Why did you even sign up to take the blasted subject anyway, you two?"

James and Sirius glanced at each other and Sirius said, "Well I took the subject to piss off my mum. Turned out I like it."

"I took the subject because if I'm going to have muggles for in-laws one day then I bloody well better know a bit about them," James winked at Lily and set off out of the Great Hall.

…

Dear Diary…er..that sounds childish. Let me try again. Dear Journal. No, that's not right either. Maybe I won't address an inanimate object. These are personal thoughts and feelings, so perhaps I should simply address it to me. Dearest Lily Luna Potter. We had a crazy day today. No…scratch that. I sound like I have a multiple personality disorder. I give up. DEAR NOBODY OR NOTHING INPARTICULAR. Much better. Ahem.

First week at Hogwarts in the year 1977 is going swimmingly. Hah. Yeah right. I wish. No, things are a disaster. My grandparents don't look anywhere near dating at the moment. Severus Snape isn't the hero I imagined him to be. Albus Dumbledore hasn't spoken a word to me since my arrival here, and Sirius Black is fucking gorgeous. Stupid…fucking…Sirius Black.

I have made a few new friends. Both of my grandparents are awesome. James Potter and Lily Evans. Wow. I didn't think it was possible for a bloke to be even cockier than my brother, but my grandfather truly takes the cake. He struts up and down the corridors with crowds of girls trailing after him like he's been voted most eligible bachelor in Witch Weekly. My gran is something else all together. She's proud. Very clever and intelligent.

Remus is a hard one to figure out. I never pictured him to be so quiet. After all, Teddy is extremely loud. But his father is quiet, thoughtful, and seems almost fearful a lot of the time. He refuses to date and I'm pretty it's because of his condition. Although I'm not technically supposed to know about that.

Peter is almost exactly as I pictured him to be. He's not really a part of the Marauders the way the other three are. He just sort of tags along after them and is popular by association. I get the impression that James likes to have a bit of an entourage, Remus is kind and is genuinely nice to Peter, and then Sirius basically ignores him most of the time. Sirius caught me staring in Peter's direction the other night, and said that while Peter can be exceptionally annoying, he is still a 'good kid at heart.' Can you believe that? Cadswallop.

I suppose I should bring my rambling to an end. I have detention with Professor McGonagall in fifteen minutes. Can you imagine? Aunt Minnie, giving me detention! My first year at Hogwarts half of the professors were too intimidated to give me detention. Who wanted to punish the girl whose entirely family were war heroes? Then when I got older and they discovered what a firecracker I was, they changed their minds right quick.

Well, off I go. Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll get to traverse into the Forbidden Forest! I heard Hagrid saying a new Centaur was born the other night. What's a baby Centaur called anyway? A calf? A cub? A kid? Maybe I should ask Hagrid.

Cheers!

Lily Luna Potter

….

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in." Luna slowly pushed open the door to Minerva McGonagall's office. It was pleasant. Not unlike her actual home, it felt comfortable and familiar. With relief, Luna sank into the chair in front of the large desk. "Have a biscuit, Miss Granger."

Luna reached eagerly for the tin before stopping herself and looking up curiously at the woman, "They're not poisoned are they? I thought I was coming here to be punished. Not eat sweets."

McGonagall bestowed a small, tight lipped smile, on her before replying, "I assure you there is nothing amiss about them. I was planning on having you wash dishes with the House Elves after dinner, but when Professor Dumbledore heard of your punishment, he told me of your peculiar circumstances and mildly suggested that I go a bit easy on you," as she spoke her eyes softened a bit.

"Oh. Well, I see. I thought he already told you that my parents were recently deceased and my new guardian is-"

"He told me the truth, dear." Luna froze. In that moment, Minerva McGonagall's face looked kinder, softer, reminding Luna of Minerva's older self. She swallowed the lump in her throat at that thought. What if she never got to see her Aunt Minnie ever again?

"May I ask what he said?"

"He said that you are from the future. That you ended up here accidentally as a result of a mishap with a yet-to-be-invented device called a Time Turner?"

"Is that…all he said?"

"Yes. Is there more that I should know?"

"No, no, that's everything," Luna expelled a deep breath of air she had been holding. She wanted so badly to spill everything. To tell this woman, whom she trusted, about how odd it was for her to be with her grandparents. About how strange it was to walk the halls of Hogwarts and yet not recognize all of the faces.

"Very well, you may return to your common room. But if you act up in class like that again, I will give you detention!"

"Yes, Ma'm!" Luna jumped up from her seat and scurried out of the room quickly. Sweet Merlin, her Aunt Minnie had been a terrifying professor.

…..

What was she to do with this unexpected free time? Grinning widely, she could only think of two places she wanted to be; which should she go to first? Skipping down the stairs, she walked right out the front doors of the school, down to the Quidditch pitch. Of course she didn't have her broom with her. The school brooms would be locked up in the office of Madam Bulstrode, who taught flying and was the referee for the Quidditch games.

Humming to herself, she flicked her wand at the lock to the door and it opened with a click. Glancing left and right, she dodged into Madam Bulstrode's office. About 50 brooms were on one wall, and on a shelf in the corner sat the box Luna was looking for. She grabbed the best looking broom of the lot, which was still pretty sad looking compared to her Lighting Bolt 360, then snatched the box from the shelf and dodged quickly out of the room, locking the door behind her.

What she really wanted to do was practice her Chaser abilities. Back in her own time she was about to start her seventh year of Hogwarts and she would need to be at the top of her game. She was the captain, after all. However, it was nearly impossible to practice being a Chaser by yourself. Instead she pulled out the Golden Snitch. She held it in her hand tightly, closing her eyes, making a silent wish as if it were a good luck charm. "Please," she whispered to it, "please let me be able to return home. Even if its not right away, I don't want to be stuck here forever." Her fingers uncurled and the golden wings took off in a flutter. Luna kept her eyes closed. In her head, she counted to 30.

When she opened her eyes, the Golden Snitch was nowhere in sight. Delightedly, she hopped onto the broomstick and took off into the sky. After a few moments she completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing. It just felt so wonderful to be up in the air again. Three Twirls, five loops, and a quick Wronski Feint later, she heard applauding below her. "Ah, shit," she moaned. It was Remus Lupin.

She braked, started to descend, and that was when she saw it. The Golden Snitch was fluttering practically on top of Remus's foot! Swooping down, she laid herself flat against the broom and rocketed toward it. The flimsy school broom was vibrating beneath her, protesting at her high speed but she didn't relent.

As expected, she crashed right into Remus. "Oof!" he spluttered. The two of them tumbled several yards in a tangled mess of limbs before finally stopping. Remus was flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him, and Luna was straddling him triumphantly, with a huge grin on her face and the Golden Snitch held tightly in her right fist. "Ah-ha!" she cried.

Her raven black hair, which naturally always fell perfectly in place, was mused and her clothes were rumpled. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing her midriff and her skirt was hiked up around her hips. It had been a bit foolish of her to fly around the pitch in a skirt, but she didn't want to waste time to change. Remus was in a similar state. Their tumbling and thrown his cloak off of him completely, and his clothes were also rumpled.

"What the bloody hell?" she glanced over to see Sirius, Peter, and James headed their way. It was only then that she noticed how all four of them were dressed entirely in black. What were they doing out on the grounds in the early evening dressed in such ninja-like attire? Her mind immediately began to run through a list of mischievous possibilities.

"Hullo," she said brightly.

"What the fuck are you doing on top of Moony?" Sirius's face had drained of color. It was as pale as the moon that had just started peeking up on the horizon. The moon! It was a full moon tonight! They must have been on their way to the Whomping Willow!

James's face was beet red as he spluttered around, trying to find something to say. Luna glanced down. Merlin, her black bra was even poking up out of her shirt as two of the buttons had snapped off of her school uniform. They must really look a sight. "Nothing!" Remus squeaked as he squirmed beneath her, trying to get away.

Luna squeezed her thighs tighter around him and crooned, "Don't be so embarrassed, babe, they're your friends, you can tell them," she waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Luna!" Remus cried in indignation, "Tell them the truth!"

"But I am, love," she gave a little shimmy and said, "imagine how far we would have gotten by now if they hadn't stumbled upon us."

Sirius drew his wand, aiming it at Remus. James jumped in front of him, "Calm down there, mate!"
"I'm going to hex his fucking balls off! Get off me, James, GET OFF!"

"Moony's our friend, put your wand away, you prat!"

"What if that was Evans right now, Prongs?" snarled Sirius. James's face fell. Shit. He knew that if he caught one of his friends messing around with Lily Evans he would attack them. But this was Sirius. Surely Sirius didn't feel for Granger what he felt for Evans. He had only known her one bloody week!

"That's not a valid argument," James said quickly, "normally, I'd be right behind you in a duel, mate, you know that, but just think about this for a minute. Do you really think that Moony, our Moony, was really messing around with Lu-Lu on the Quidditch Pitch? Even if you could entertain the idea, would he really be doing it tonight, right now, of all times? Use your head, Pads."

With one last glare at Remus, Sirius tucked his wand back inside of his cloak. "I suppose not."

"Thank Merlin," groaned Remus, who was still flat on the ground, "Now someone get this crazy bint off of me! She was playing Quidditch for Godric's sake! Instead of landing like a normal person, she decided to fly right into me. That's what happened, and if you don't believe me, look at what's in her hand."

Guiltily Luna stretched out her hand and they could all see the tiny fluttering wings sticking out from between her fingers, "I was going to land like a normal person, but then I spotted the Golden Snitch hovering around Remus's foot. I went for it. That's all that happened." She explained defensively.

"Where did you get that?" James asked, drawing his eyebrows together.

"Nicked it," she said casually.

James threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Good luck with this bird, mate," he said, clapping Sirius on the shoulder, "She's almost as bad as us! I'll eat my shoe if you somehow get her to agree to a date with you!"

Sirius smirked, "I'm not concerned," Luna crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes blazing. How dare they talk about her as if she wasn't even there! "I'll bet you ten galleons I'll have a date with her by the end of the month."

"You're on!" They shook on it.

"Um, excuse me, Luna, but could you please get off of me now?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! Yes, of course," she leapt up and brushed off her skirt. "Where are you all headed anyway?"

They all shifted their weight and looked at each other uncomfortably before Peter finally said, "For a walk."

"Yes," agreed James, "for a walk."

"I'll believe that when nifflers fly," she snorted.

"Perhaps you should be rethinking your taste in girls," Remus muttered to Sirius from the corner of his mouth, but Sirius just kept grinning broadly at her as if he had never seen anything so engaging before in his life.

Knowing she probably shouldn't push any further, as the moon was rising swiftly, and it was Remus's secret to keep so she shouldn't pry, she said, "Whatever. You don't have to tell me. I'm going to put this broom away and visit Hagrid."

"You know Hagrid?"

"Well, I, I've seen him around," she bumbled, "at the, you know, staff table, and stuff. I thought he was a pretty nice bloke. Fancied a chat with him about dragons and whatnot. Okay, have a good walk, bye!" and she practically ran away from them, heading toward the broomstick that lay in the middle of the pitch.

"Odd sort of girl, isn't she?" Peter said.

Sirius was smiling like no one had ever seen him smile before. He didn't hesitate to say, "She's brilliant."