"So, survived a date with the old goat, yeah?" James asked, upon finding me reading in the door-less, purely glass-windows room at the end of the hall.

"Yeah. She didn't like me at all, though," I replied, looking up from my letter.

"Aw, well, if she did like you, I'd be a little concerned."

His hair was completely messed-up from Quidditch with his Dad and his glasses were slightly lop-sided. I found James much more approachable at the Potter house, to be honest. If this were school, he'd probably have leaned against the wall and tried to ask me a witty question about what I was reading to impress Lily. Or more likely, he would have walked right by me without noticing me. Instead, he came and sat next to me quite civilly.

"Say, I meant to ask you a long time ago, but given everything that happened afterwards… Anyways, why were you down there that night, at the Whomping Willow?"

"You mean, that night we were almost all slaughtered by a werewolf?" I clarified.

"Well… yeah, if you want to put it that way," he said cautiously, looking at me carefully to see if I knew who the werewolf really was.

"Actually, it was the second time I was almost killed by that werewolf," I clarified further.

"W-was it?" James said nervously, suddenly looking away.

"Yeah, you saved my life the first time. Don't you remember?" I said, trying to sound casual, but unable to meet his eyes.

James' mouth dropped open. "You know!? How?!"

I shrugged. "Nothing much. Just overheard you after O.W.L.s."

He looked stricken. "You didn't tell anyone else, did you? 'Cause if you did and Dumbledore finds out-"

"I didn't tell anyone," I said quickly, shaking my head.

"But I wanted to ask you why it's such a secret. I mean, it was scary to run into a werewolf. It was horrible, I remember that I was paralyzed from fear. But, still, if Dumbledore allows it, why does Remus have to hide it?" I said, struggling to articulate what I meant.

"What you have to understand," James explained slowly and thoughtfully, "is that wizards have prejudice against werewolves like they're violent convicts. There's a history of nasty incidents between wizards and werewolves and it's led to bad stigma against them. If other students found out, there'd probably be a mass protest, especially among the purebloods who know the history. At the least, he'd be completely shunned."

"Please," James begged, "don't tell anyone. About Lupin or us. Please don't-"

"I won't," I promised.

"And you… you don't hate Lupin, do you? I mean, he wasn't in his right mind when he went after you. He was just… Lupin's not… he's not a murderer," James looked pained at his own words, "He'd never hurt you. Werewolves lose their identities when they transform and when they encounter humans, they become uncontrollably savage by nature."

"I-I know," I said, but the words caught in my throat. A shudder passed through me as I remembered that terrifying feeling of looking into those hideous yellow eyes.

"If you're disgusted and afraid of him," James said quietly, still pleading for me to understand, "can you imagine just how disgusted and afraid Lupin is of himself?"

Pity rose within me at his words. Poor Remus… No wonder he never smiles.

"He deserves better," I said finally. "I'm glad you guys are there for him."

James face broke into a relieved smile.

"Just out of curiosity," I wondered aloud, and his face immediately became somber again. "What's Peter's Animagus form?"

"Oh," James face cleared again and he laughed, "Pete's a rat. Wormtail, you know."

"Right," I said, finally understanding, "Wormtail."

"But it's a secret, all right?" James reminded me again.

I nodded.

A silence followed and James attempted to break it by peering over at my letter like a curious child and asking, "What's that you're reading?"

"Don't-" I started quickly, but it was too late. He snatched the letters out of my hand quickly. "Wait a minute, are these from Evans?"

"James!" I tried to reach for it, but he held it out of my reach and began to read it aloud, "Dear Ray, I hope you're comfortable and well at James arrogant-toerag Potter's house-What!?"

"Give it back!" I protested and finally, deeply frustrated by how much longer the length of his arm was than mine, I reached and viciously grabbed his hair.

"Ah! Not the hair!"

"Give me back my letter!"

"Not the hair! Not the hair! Ow! Okay, okay!"

He shoved the letter back into my hand, muttering to himself as he massaged his head, "Fine, bet you girls don't even have anything interesting to talk about anyways. Everything's probably just like, 'Girlfrannnnn, let me give you the four-one-onnnnnnnneeeeeee. Yesterday, I broke this nail and I was like, 'oh noooo way'! But then I snogged this super hot, sexy guy- his name was James Potter-"

I burst into laughter.

"What?" James grinned. "Have I got it right on?"

"No," I choked out between laughs and pointed at his head, "Y-You've got a bald spot. Sorry."

"What!?"

He leapt up and raced down the hallway to the bathroom at which time I heartily skipped into my own bedroom and shut the door.


Later that night, however, I found myself with eyes wide open, unable to fall asleep. Thoughts were crammed into my head, ricocheting off the walls of my mind. Did Snape manage to see Lupin before he transformed? Why is Lupin a werewolf? Does he remember being bitten? Does everyone on the staff know?

Rap, rap, rap.

I paused. The faintest sound of knocking had sounded out. Perhaps it was the strange but steady June rain coming down tonight, or perhaps it was the tree scraping against my window again.

Rap, rap, rap.

I hesitated and sat up-

SLAM!

The entire glass shook in the frame.

With my heart pounding furiously, I grabbed my wand, raced over to the window, and threw back the tapestry.

"Sirius!?"

Sirius Black was outside my window, completely soaked, shivering violently, and barely sitting upright on a broomstick. A bloody handprint was plastered on my window from the sound he had made just now.

I quickly opened the latch and threw open my window. For one long moment, he looked at me with terrified, haunted eyes. Then, his eyes slipped closed and he started to fall off his broom.

"Sirius!" I leaned out the window and grabbed him, pulling him towards me. He slumped forward, unable to hold himself up. He smelled of blood and his breathing was terribly ragged. His hands, burning hot, gripped the back of my shirt. Because he had slid so far forward, suddenly the broom gave way. At the same time, Sirius' hands slipped from the back of my shirt and I was left holding the entire weight of Sirius out the window by myself. I groaned loudly as pain shot up both my arms. Literally, I felt like my shoulders had been ripped out of their sockets. I tried to pull him up but my hands started slipping on his rain-soaked shirt- He's going to fall!

"Sirius! Sirius, for Merlin's sake!" I begged desperately. "Wake up!"

His eyes fluttered opened, weary, exhausted.

"Sirius!" I shouted as my fingers slipped further yet. "Help me get you up! I can't hold on much longr."

His eyes were like a beaten animal's; unfocused, clouded, and afraid. But he must have understood something because he reached up with both his hands and grasped the windowsill. He began to drag himself up and I pulled as hard as I could. It was a tight squeeze through the window but with a grunt, a hard pull, and a ripping of fabric- he was finally through. The second his feet hit the ground, he collapsed, grabbing the front of my shirt.

I was yanked forward, bowing down in the most awkward position.

"S-Sirius," I panted, grabbing his arm and throwing it over my shoulder. With a tremendous effort, I managed to get him in a somewhat standing position, though all of his weight was leaning on me. My legs groaned and trembled under the effort. But despite how slick how skin and clothing was from the rain, my hand felt the sliminess on his arm and the front of my shirt was stained with something dark. I glanced over at him and gasped- the side of his face beneath his jaw had been cut open and was bleeding profusely. There was also a wide gash over his eyebrow and the right side of his face was plastered in halfway-dried blood. And though I couldn't tell where it was all coming from, the rest of him was bleeding and bruised as well. I could only pray that nothing was broken, though by the way his ankle was bent, it looked as though even that was too much to ask for.

"James!" I screamed. "Mr. Potter! Mrs. Potter! Help! Please help!"

I started to move Sirius towards the couch just besides the window, but nearly fell under his weight.

James rushed in just then. His initial expression was one of utter shock, but he quickly got his bearings together and helped me to lay Sirius down on the couch.

"S-Sirius? Sirius, mate," James said, kneeling beside him. There was no response.

"Sirius," James begged, "answer me-!"

Mr. and Mrs. Potter burst into my door, then. Mrs. Potter let out a shriek of surprise, but Mr. Potter immediately knelt beside Sirius, ripped open his shirt, and began to cast Healing Spells, tracing his wand over the deep cuts covering all of chest and stomach.

"Vulnera Sanentur Vulnera Sanentur Vulnera SanenturSanga Supprimitri… Inuiria Tueri…"

The bleeding began to stop and it looked almost as though the blood was drawing itself back in. The wounds slowly began to heal, with the skin mending over itself.

James watched Sirius intensely with frightened eyes, his jaw clenched tightly.

Sirius let out a loud whimper of pain and James suddenly gripped my hand tightly with his.

"Mr. Potter," I whispered suddenly and James flinched besides me, startled by my voice.

"I think his ankle is broken," I said hoarsely, unable to raise my voice to a normal volume.

Mr. Potter reached over and gently gripped both of his ankles. He sighed and turned to Mrs. Potter. "Charlotte, perhaps you should do this one."

Mrs. Potter nodded and took his place, murmuring softly to Sirius, "Grit your teeth now, dear. Sarcio confractus!"

A loud snap resounded in the air and Sirius, still unconscious, screamed in agony.

Please! I nearly shouted. Please stop hurting him!

Unable to stand the sight of Sirius in any more pain, I gritted my teeth and looked away. James' hand was like a vice on mine.

"Harold, the Dittany!"

Mr. Potter pointed his wand towards the downstairs cabinets. "Accio Dittany!" A small brown bottle zoomed in our room and Mr. Potter snatched it from the air, unstoppered it, and handed it to Mrs. Potter.

Mrs. Potter poured the liquid from the bottle all over her wounds. I looked again when I heard a soft sizzling sound, and watched in awe as new, clean flesh began to mend itself over the wounds. Sirius moaned again, though the sound was softer.

Mr. Potter let out a sigh of relief and fell back against the couch, on the ground.

"How is he?" James asked, his voice hoarse with worry.

Mr. Potter replied quietly, but for the first time since I'd met him, his voice was tinged with something other than calm, something that bristled with fury. "Yes, he's alive," Mr. Potter said. "And he's all right. At least, compared to a few minutes ago."

I squeezed James' hand and James seemed to melt, letting out a small laugh of relief that nonetheless shook with anxiousness.

"I'll get some bandage," Mrs. Potter said. Though she could have simply Summoned them, she left the room in a hurry, hiding her face as she went.

"Are you all right, Raylynx?" Mr. Potter asked me gently.

I tried to make my voice as firm as possible. "Of course I am."

Mr. Potter nodded and got up and walked over to James, laying a hand on his head. "Son, he's going to be all right. Sirius is going to be all right."

James nodded, his eyes misty. He let go of my hand, which now had his nail marks, to hug his father. I moved to the window to close it and finally stop the rain from coming in and dripping down the soaked curtains. At the bottom, I spotted Sirius' items.

"There's Sirius' broom and trunk," I said. Mr. Potter and James came to join me at the window. With a simple Summoning Charm, Sirius' broom and trunk came flying in through the window and landed lightly on the floor. Mr. Potter slammed shut the window, performed a quick Drying Charm on the curtains and floor and then turned to me, "Raylynx, I understand that this may be uncomfortable for you, but Sirius will have to stay here tonight. It'll be painful for him if we move him in his condition. Perhaps tomorrow you and James can switch bedrooms for a bit, but for tonight-"

"I don't mind in the least, Mr. Potter," I replied. "I used to share a room with my brother."

Mrs. Potter rushed in with bandages and began to applying them to Sirius' wounds.

She shook her head several times as she did so. "To think he flew all the way here when he was injured like this- and in the rain! He's burning up with a fever!"

"Dad," James said suddenly, "what if they come looking for him this time?"

"Don't worry, they won't get him back," Mr. Potter said, and his voice was menacing. "Not unless he wants to go back."

And I could now guess at what the undercurrents of Mr. Potter's voice and his strange look at Sirius represented- the greatest anger at those who had done this to Sirius.

James hugged his father again and they left the room together, talking quietly. Mrs. Potter began to wipe Sirius' stomach and chest of blood. "I could just do it with magic," she said, brushing her hair out of the way, "but this has to feel more refreshing and comforting, right?"

I nodded and took a seat on the floor next to Mrs. Potter, watching her tenderly wipe the mess of caked blood off of Sirius.

An hour later, I nearly nodded to sleep when I realized Mrs. Potter was still wearily scrubbing at his arms, though Sirius was now covered with a blanket. The sun's first rays were breaking through the line of trees in shades of palest pink and softest orange.

"Mrs. Potter," I said tiredly. "Let me do that."

"Don't be silly," Mrs. Potter replied. "It's all right. Get to bed, dear."

"It's nearly morning. Mr. Potter will have to go to work soon and he'll be tired. You should make him some coffee," I said, thinking of what my mother did for my own father.

"Well…" Mrs. Potter hesitated and then she said, "Only if you really don't mind."

"I don't mind," I assured her, taking the towel from her.

"All right," Mrs. Potter smiled wearily at me. "Thank you, dear." She got up and left the room.

I dunked the towel back in the bowl of lukewarm water and squeezed it before beginning to wipe his arm. I worked from the hands up to his shoulder and then to his neck.

I hesitated as my eyes fell on his sleeping face.

This was a Sirius Black I did not know- one who was lost, one who was crying inside, one who needed to be protected. Thoughtlessly, sleepily, I reached out with my hand and softly brushed back the hair that fell into his eyes. He looked so much younger without his bangs. My fingers gently traced the side of his face, his cheekbones, his jaw… He moaned a little and shifted in his sleep. With a start, I jerked my hand away. What the hell am I doing?

Blinking hard to wake myself up, I dunked the towel in again and wrenched it free of water before turning to him again and beginning to wash his face. Suddenly, with his eyes still shut, his hand reached up and grabbed my wrist.

"Cold," he moaned. "Don't- co..ld…"

"Okay," I said gently. "Okay, I won't do it anymore." I tried to pull away from him, but he wasn't letting go.

"Siri-" I started, but stopped abruptly when he pressed my hand against his face and murmured, "Warm…"

"Let go," I whispered. I tried to pull my hand back but he continued to press his cheek against my hand.

Of course, if I'd really wanted to, I could forcibly pull my hand away, but it didn't seem right. He just seemed so helpless. It would be like stealing something from a baby. Seconds passed… then minutes… I yawned.

My eyelids drooped, then my head dropped onto the couch besides his… and just as the full sun peeked over the trees, I fell into a deep sleep.


Blearily, I woke up and came to. Opening my eyes, I saw Sirius' face mere inches away from mine. I blinked. Hard.

What in Merlin's name-?

Sirius was sleeping peacefully with my hand still pressed to his cheek. The reasons that had seemed all right last night seemed completely inadequate now. For Merlin's sake, he's your mate's boyfriend! I firmly wrenched my hand away. Flustered, I quickly began to change into different clothes. The faster I changed, the faster I could leave this room and pretend like nothing had ever happened. I changed behind the bed, just in case Sirius woke up. Of course, this meant I had to sit on the floor and try to put on my clothes. The bra and shirt were fine, no problem, the boyshorts and pants less so and the socks, well... I was laying on the ground with my foot up in the air and trying to pull my sock on when the door opened and James walked in.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" James asked me in a tone that indicated that he was fearful for my sanity.

"Oh, just, er- putting on socks," I said, hastily, standing up with only one sock on.

"Right..." James said skeptically, before turning to Sirius. "How's he doing? All right?"

"Think so, he's been sleeping soundly since yesterday," I replied as naturally as possible.

I reached for my other sock when James suddenly snatched my hand.

"James?" I said, startled.

"You're hurt," he said, indicating tiny red marks on the back of my hand. "Is this from yesterday when I grabbed your hand?"

"I don't remember, so don't worry about it," I replied. Honestly, I didn't remember. I had felt so much frustration from Sirius' pain that I hadn't felt any pain from James gripping onto my hand. I myself had only noticed it now.

"You should've just hit me," James said ruefully.

"James, I really didn't notice," I repeated. James still looked a bit bothered but dropped my hand before walking up to Sirius.

"Blimey, he bled through his bandages already. We'll have to change those after breakfast." James indicated the spotted red bandages on Sirius' shoulder.

"What happened?" I wondered. "He's so badly wounded."

"And yesterday," I said, turning to James, "you said 'what if they come after him this time'? Who did you mean? And has something like this happened before?"

James paused for a moment and then he said, "Let's talk downstairs, at breakfast. I don't want Sirius waking up and hearing something unpleasant first thing."

So we trooped downstairs to the dining room, where Mrs. Potter and Dusky had already laid out a steaming hot breakfast, though Mrs. Potter had now retired to her bedroom for a much-needed nap.

James began to speak. "His parents. They came looking for him here last time. Last time, he wasn't this badly hurt, but it was bad enough."

Most likely when he'd been tortured for protecting Andromeda, I thought.

"Listen," James said to me seriously, "I'm not entirely sure what happened this time either, but don't ask. And only listen if he starts to talk about it, don't comment."

"I won't, but why not?" I asked.

"It's too complicated to explain, but trust me, you don't want to see Sirius when he gets riled up about his family. It's dead scary."

"Don't worry," I replied honestly. "Sirius and I don't talk much anyways."

"Blimey, I'm sore all over!"

I started as Sirius entered the dining room.

"Wait- is that bacon I smell?" He turned towards the table but upon seeing me sitting there, his mouth just about dropped open.

"Sirius!" Mrs. Potter said reproachfully, carrying bandages and following him. "I don't think you should be up and moving quite yet!"

"I'm all right, Mrs. Potter." Sirius offered her a charming smile. "Really, I'm more hungry than anything." He joined us at the table as Mrs. Potter rushed to get him an extra plate and silverware.

"So, Gryffindor Seeker, I didn't know you were so chummy with James here."

I looked away, staring down at my eggs, on which James had drawn a lopsided happy smile using ketchup.

"Why're you here?" Sirius asked me more directly, as I'd failed to take the hint the first time.

At that moment, Mrs. Potter arrived.

"She's here on my invitation"," Mrs. Potter said firmly and I nearly blushed. Right, I'm so cool, I was invited by someone's mother to live with them over the summer.

"Speaking of invitations," Mrs. Potter continued, "I invited your parents, Raylynx, and your cousins, Sirius, to visit us this evening."

Sirius fist clenched and he looked murderous. "My cousins?"

"Yes, dear," Mrs. Potter replied obliviously, "Andromeda and Ted."

"Oh, them," Sirius relaxed and threw a strip of bacon into his mouth.

"You'd have liked to have'd been a Hufflepuff," I accidentally blurted out the most convoluted sentence I'd ever spoken in my life.

Sirius snorted and remarked, "Yeah, right. I'm sure they'd all love me there, particularly your friend, Zach or whatever. He loved me so passionately he socked me in the jaw."

"Oh, no," I replied quickly, "that's not- it's just that they have a lot of bacon in their common room, so, um…"

My voice died out as I realized he wasn't even really listening to me.

"Sirius, you sure you're all right?" James asked, concerned. "You were pretty beaten up last night."

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm all right now. Probably thanks to your mum and dad, though, I don't remember anything last night. I must've passed out. Thanks to my dear relatives. Crazy. Ah, well, all Blacks go insane one day. I'm just waiting for my turn."

"What are you talking about?" James grinned. "You're already mad. It's as Moony always says: It's just that the flesh doesn't reflect the madness within yet."