The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

In My Veins

"Sirius?" Marlene asked, as they stood up to leave class. "Where are you going?"

"Check on Remus," He said stiffly, leaving the room in a flash.

Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "He was acting weird."

"Yeah," Marlene nodded, looking at Sirius's retreating back in concern. "He was."

Sirius didn't have a plan, but one grew within him from every step. He wasn't going to teach Snape a lesson. After the stunt Snape just pulled, he didn't want Snape to learn a single damn thing. All he wanted was for him to suffer like he just made Remus suffer. It was one thing to pick a fight him or James. They always were more than game to fight back, but Remus was different. Remus didn't believe in fighting; he always believed that communication was the key to ending all debates.

So it really shook Sirius to his core that Snape was cold-blooded enough to pick on someone as sick as Remus. Sirius wouldn't ever say he wasn't a bully. He would like to claim it was because of his upbringing, but he knew it was more than that. It was something deeper, something he didn't work hard enough to control. By the time Sirius dropped by the hospital wing, he knew exactly what he was going to do. He didn't walk in. One look inside was all he needed. One look at Remus's disheveled form, and James's troubled face and Sirius grabbed Peter from the chair by the doorway and walked away with him.

"Sirius…what the hell…" Peter muttered as he stumbled after him. "What are you doing?"

"We," Sirius began through gritted teeth, "are going to have a bit of fun."

Peter was ecstatic to, for once, be singled out by Sirius. He went along with the plan blindly, not asking what they were doing or why. All he thought of was the fact that for once he was going to be included in something…something that Remus and even James were being left out of. Finally it was his turn to be the star of a prank, and he couldn't hold back his excitement.

Across the castle Lily was sitting with Marlene in the Gryffindor Common Room. Marlene sat on the floor while Lily was perched on the sofa above her, her hands twisting Marlene's long hair into plaits. All the girls always asked Lily to do their hair. She had a talent for it that her mother had taught her when she was little, and she loved using it whenever possible.

"Thanks for doing this, Lil. I've always been rubbish with my hair," Marlene said softly.

"I love playing with hair…it's like playing with dolls all over again," Lily smiled.

Marlene laughed thinking of her childhood. "I was never into dolls. I think that's a Muggle thing."

"Or the fact that you were surrounded by sisters, so you already had girls to play with," Lily added wistfully. "It must have been nice having so many siblings."

"Not really… I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I'm only close with my brother Rick. My sisters drive me mad."

Lily said, "How so?"

"They are so…self-involved. They don't think about anyone other than themselves… I mean they do think of other people..." Marlene sighed wearily, leaning back as Lily tugged her hair tightly. "I just get along with Rick better."

"I get it."

"How's your dad doing?"

Lily grinned. "He's good. I wrote him yesterday. He said he had a student that reminded him of me."

"Student wise or daughter wise?"

"Both. Apparently, she was very opinionated and saw him after class to see if she could do anything for extra credit."