Chivalrous || Sirius Black

6 - aftershock

Y/N's POV

"I don't understand why you threw yourself in front of her, Padfoot." I hear a voice say. I recognize it as James Potter. But who's he calling Padfoot? 

"Like you wouldn't have done the same thing if it was Lily." I hear Sirius say tersely. 

So Sirius must be Padfoot, I think to myself. Why am I around James and Sirius? Why are they in my room? No. This isn't my room. I'm laying on a hard bed in the hospital wing. That's when it all comes rushing back to me. 

Taking a walk outside, seeing the full moon, hearing the howl of a werewolf, then seeing the werewolf. The werewolf launching itself towards me, Sirius covering me. The shock of it all causing me to pass out, which I guess is how I ended up here.

"Don't bring Lily into this. You know I would drop in front of the killing curse for her if it came down to it. But I love her. Are you telling me you're in love with this Slytherin girl who you've hated for years." James retorts.

Sirius sighs. "I'm not in love with her. But I don't hate her either. What did you expect me to do, let Moony rip her to shreds?"

Moony. That must be the nickname they have for whoever the werewolf is. And if I saw Peter help Sirius into his clothes, and he's talking to James, that only leaves Remus. But Remus as a werewolf? He's the calmest, most level-headed out of the lot of them? How could it be that he's a werewolf? Such a vile and violent creature. 

"It surely would be better that way, instead of us having to explain all of this to her and convince her to keep it quiet." James says harshly. 

His words sting. Is this really what people think of me? That I'm better off being torn to pieces by a werewolf than gaining their trust. Maybe I'm not as different from my parents as I thought. 

"Seriously, James? You don't mean that." Peter cuts in. 

Having enough of their arguing and insults, I open my eyes, letting out a groan to let them know I'm awake. "Are you okay?" Sirius asks worriedly, being the first to rush to my side. 

"Yeah. I'm fine." I tell him, sitting up in the bed. He takes seat next to me and I notice his shirt is off, but I can't see the extent of the injuries on his back. "I should be asking you how you are. I mean, you saved my life."

He shrugs. "It's nothing. Anyone else would've done the same thing." He tells me, and I don't miss the glare he shoots in James' direction. "It doesn't hurt much anymore, they gave me some stuff for the pain, cleaned out the wounds and they're closed up now. It'll just scar a bit. But it's better to have scars on my back than on your pretty face."

I can't help the blush that blooms across my cheeks. He's never complimented me before and I can't help but wonder if saving my life has broken down those walls between us. Maybe we're no longer standing on opposite sides of enemies lines. Maybe I should give him a chance. 

"Is Remus okay?" I ask, looking around the hospital wing and not seeing him anywhere. 

The three of them are shocked by my question, looking at me with raised eyebrows. They're clearly surprised that I figured out who the werewolf is. I may not be a Ravenclaw, but I'm not stupid. "It's not that hard to figure out." I tell them. "I mean, the three of you are here, and the four of you are almost always together. It only makes sense that Remus is the one who's the werewolf."

"He's fine." Sirius says. "Just beating himself up over what happened."

"He shouldn't. I know he can't control it. What matters is that on every night but the full moon, and every day he's a good person. That one night a month is nothing. I know a werewolf who is terrible everyday, the full moon only makes him worse."

Once again they all look at me confused. "Fenrir Greyback." I supply. "You had to have known my parents are Death Eaters."

I always hate to admit it, but I figure it's pretty much common knowledge at this point. 

"Right." James nods. "Which is why we need to talk to you -"

"I won't tell anyone. About Remus or any of you." I cut him off, knowing he was already going to ask me not to say anything. 

"See! I told you she's a good person." Sirius says with a grin. 

"One good thing doesn't make her a good person." James argues as if I'm not sitting mere feet away from him. "I don't trust snakes."

I huff. "Well one bad thing doesn't make a person bad either. You should know that seeing as one of your best friends is a werewolf. Besides, I'm not much of a fan of lions. They're vicious and bloodthirsty."

Sirius snorts beside me, while James cheeks pinken. He doesn't say anything as he struts out of the room, Peter trailing after him. 

"Sorry about him." Sirius apologizes once they're gone. "He's very..."

"Arrogant?" I fill in. 

Sirius nods in agreement. "Yeah. He's entirely against the concept of blood purity. And since you're a Slytherin..." He trails off.

"He assumes that I agree with pure-blood supremacy." I supply. "I mean, most Slytherins are bigots who think that only pure-bloods deserve to be taught magic. Pretty funny considering their leader is a half-blood. But, I'm not like that. I don't see the problem with half-bloods or muggle-borns or even marrying muggles."

"Why are you a Slytherin then?"

"Blood purity isn't the only trait Slytherins are known for, you know." I point out. "We're also ambitious, cunning, and resourceful. But other than that, I asked the sorting hat to put me in Slytherin. It wanted to put me in Hufflepuff, but I knew that if I let it, my parents would disown me. All my relatives would hate me and I would be left with nowhere to go."

"I ran away from home two years ago. It was the end of fifth year and I was sixteen. I had had enough of my parents ridiculous hate towards muggles and muggle-borns, so I just took off. I've been living with James ever since. He's not a bad person, you know. He's just very protective of the people he loves."

"I get that." I nod. "So, your brother Regulus?"

"He still lives with my parents. The only time we talk is here at Hogwarts. I'm not sure how much longer that will last though. I'm pretty sure he's set on joining Voldemort's ranks and becoming a Death Eater."

I had heard the same thing. I'm not really sure what to tell him, so instead I just reach towards him and place my hand comfortingly over his. 

*****

A/N: Yes, I put 'strut' there intentionally when referring to James.