Astrophile [J.P]

Chapter 36

~ You've got troubles, I've got 'em too, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you

We stick together and we see it through, 'cause you've got a friend in me. ~

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It was near evening and unlike other days, the castle grounds were quite empty. The tranquil waters of the Giant Lake were bestowing a pleasant view to the lonely soul seated on the bank. Felicity had crept out of the castle and come to the lake, in order to escape all the noise and chatter.

She was trying her best to pull herself together, but at times like these she found the need to be by herself more than ever before. And at the moment, the calm atmosphere of the Lake had felt very comforting to her.

Unknown to her, she wasn't the only one out there in the castle grounds. Four of Hogwarts' renowned troublemakers were also marauding about in the Forbidden Forest. A dog, a stag and a rat were being led by none other than Remus Lupin, probably out there on the lookout for mischief.

As usual, the three Animagi were quite excited, frolicking about as if they had no care in the world, while Remus had to be on the watch, making sure the did nothing that could expose their secret.

"Alright guys, that's enough, I think we should go back now," he called after them but it seemed as if they were intent on ignoring him altogether.

However, the stag and the dog seemed to have come to the decision of racing to the castle grounds and in a swift move, they were off with poor Rem hurtling behind them and the rat holding on tightly to the stag's antlers.

"I... I tell you... Stop! Someone could be... Out there," he panted as he ran to keep them in sight.

Quite soon a huge splash was heard and when Rem emerged out of the woods, the sight before him shocked him out of his wits. The galloping animals had sent a student headfirst into the Giant Lake. But the more worrying thing was that the student was none other than Felicity Latvia.

"Merlin's Beard..." 

Prongs the stag was quite a living example of the phrase Deer In Headlights at that moment, Padfoot was weighing out a hundred options in his mind in which Felicity could get them back for this, Wormtail had hidden himself deeper among the antlers, not wanting to witness the situation.

And Remus had taken note of dealing with the three later, currently resorting to help her get out of the lake.

"I... I'm so sorry. I... They... It's not..." he really didn't what he was going to say to her. Before she had gotten out, Prongs had sprinted away in the forest, with Wormtail still holding onto his antlers for dear life.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She was soaking wet from head to toe however she only nodded in reply, using a blow dry charm to dry herself off. 

Rem was still apologizing profusely for the act to which she put a stop by answering, "I wasn't in the mood for a bath at this time, I admit. But please stop apologizing."

Surprisingly though, Padfoot had stayed rather than making his escape with the other two and was simply standing beside Rem like an obedient little puppy.

"I hadn't known you had pets," she stated, noticing the black dog beside him. 

Remus was quite furious at the three Marauders internally for leaving him to deal with such a situation, however he replied, "they are not my pets. These animals live in the forest and I befriended them in my fifth year."

She raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, "I would have said that's weird but since you're a Marauder as well, I'm going to let it pass."

She bent down and gently patted the dog. Remus was clearly not expecting that but relaxed knowing that she was probably not going to set off in a tantrum now.

"For a wild one, it's quite behaved," Felicity remarked.

"Not at all, this little bugger has caused just as much trouble as one can imagine," Rem was glaring at Sirius, imploring him to just leave like the other two did because he was in no mood of lying further to cover up their secret.

She conjured a ball and showed it to Padfoot, "wanna play fetch?"

Padfoot sprinted away to catch the ball which she threw afar. A small smile broke on her face when he dropped it back at her feet. 

"I had't known you were fond of dogs." 

She nodded, "I had always wanted to have a dog for a pet but couldn't since Dad's allergic. There was one time I smuggled a little puppy in the house but Mum found out so it had to go."

He was a bit confused at first but realized that she was probably referring to Stefan because she addressed Alphard as Father instead of Dad.

"Are you coming back to the castle?" he asked.

"No, I'll stay here for a short while," she answered, "the weather is really soothing."

He nodded and headed back to the castle however, Padfoot remained sitting down beside her.

She had no idea it was Sirius in his animagi form but she didn't mind him being there for the time being. She needed a companion and at the moment, the black dog's presence seemed like the best thing she could ask for. She wanted to let out all the smoke that was building up inside her. But she couldn't share it all with any of her friends. She didn't want to be judged or be faced with questions.

To her, a dog as a companion was the perfect choice.

"Will you be my friend too?"

She was startled at the bark in reply as if the dog had understood what she just said. However, she gently patted the top of his head, "to be honest, dogs are better companions than people because they're loyal and very great listeners. I know I have the best of friends I can ever wish for, but still there are some things I can't share with them. I don't want them to be burdened due to me and I don't want anyone to take pity on me."

After a short pause, she spoke, "you won't do any of those things, right? You're only going to listen silently and not ask any questions?"

This once, she wasn't startled by the bark in reply. Instead a satisfied smile spread on her face, "thank you." 

***