Rose Petals ✿ Remus Lupin - Discontinued :(

Chapter 41

This year, Spring Holiday seemed extremely uneventful to Belle, and it truly was. Her grandparents had gotten word that her father moved permanently to France with his father's girlfriend, leaving her grandparents to become her official guardians from now until she graduates. Belle thought she would've cared for that even just a small bit, but she'd already been living with her grandparents for a year now; nothing really changed.

When Belle arrived back to Hogwarts she was happy to see her friends. After her reunion with Lily before Holiday, she had a long talk with Sirius and Rose, who both felt extremely guilty and upset at what they had done. In all honesty, Belle didn't care anymore. She'd reached the point in the year when all she wanted a two month break from everybody and everything. She had forgiven them easily and had even went as far to say she was over Sirius and had been for a while. That had eased up the tension between them entirely as Sirius went back to being his cocky self straight afterwards.

"Holiday was far too short for my liking," Was the first thing Belle heard as she entered her friends' train compartment. She was the last to arrive, mostly because she woke up late and was not at all prepared for returning to school that morning. It was Rose who had spoken. "I would be content with another week."

"I think we all would-hey, Belle," Eileen grinned, moving over to give her a space between her and Remus.

"Hey Belle..." They all said separately, in quieter tones than normal. She gave them smiles like she always did, but there was something off about everyone. Earlier she had seen a bundle of Hufflepuffs huddled together in a cabin, which was odd, but Belle didn't think much of the somber mood throughout the train. She had disregarded it as the sadness of having to return to school. Clearly, she missed something.

"What's wrong with everybody today? Did something happen?"

"Only the blasted Death Eaters and their muggle-hating ways..." Sirius grumbled, staring at a spot outside the window. He seemed more peeved than sorrowful, thought to be fair Sirius is hardly ever sad at Hogwarts.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Belle questioned.

"Haven't you read the Prophet?" Lily sighed.

Belle didn't disregard the appearance of Lily Evans that morning. She was deathly pale, the freckles in her face even more prominent now. Her vibrant hair did nothing to help her cause. Her friend was frightened, more frightened than she had ever seen Lily before, and just that caused Belle to grow anxious of what was on the newspaper this morning. She had not had time to read the paper as she was rushing, neither did her grandparents who tended to avoid the Prophet when possible. Belle shook her head to answer Lily.

Said girl dug in her bag beside her, pulling out a neatly folded newspaper with a bold headline. She handed it to Belle who unfolded carefully, her eyes scanning the moving picture of a family smiling towards the camera. A mother and father held a small child, a young girl that couldn't of been older than three, while two other children stood patiently waiting for the picture to be taken. She knew the oldest child there, he was in their year. His name was Isaac Newman, a muggle-born Hufflepuff with a passion for Charms. She hadn't talked to Isaac much, but he was very kind to her and always was willing to help anyone who asked. Her eyes moved from the picture to the heading, and immediately her stomach dropped.

DISAPPEARANCE OF MUGGLE-BORN FAMILY SENDING HUNDREDS WORLDWIDE INTO A PANICKED FRENZY! DEATH EATERS ON THE MOVE! WHAT YOU CAN DO TO STAY SAFE!

Belle clutched her mouth with her hand, afraid that if she let go she'd vomit. Lily took the paper from her as Remus slung his arm around her shoulders.