warrior | sirius black

twenty seven

Sirius scoffed, blinking back his tears. "Thanks for the words of encouragement, love."

Rosie grabbed his hands gently, saying, "I'm only telling you the truth. Sirius, you can't just expect them to forgive and forget this. I'm still very angry at you but I know...I know I'm the only one you have left. So I'll stay with you. I can't leave you alone."

Sirius looked at her angrily. "You're not the only one I have left!" he said hotly. "I have...I have...I have no one," he whispered, looking down solemnly at his realization. He truly had no one except for Rosie now.

Rosie frowned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You'll always have me...I know you didn't mean for it to turn out this way. I know you're sorry. But it's not my forgiveness you need, it's theirs."

Sirius nodded sadly, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He was grateful for Rosie. If he didn't have her, he would truly have no one.

For the rest of the morning, Rosie allowed Sirius to cry on her shoulder and gave him the courage he needed to apologize to his brothers. Unfortunately, Rosie was right, and they weren't ready for his apology at all.

For the next few months, Sirius spent most of his time with Rosie and occupied all of his free time with apologizing to his brothers. He couldn't stand being in his own dorm room, so he slept with Rosie instead, much to the dismay of her other roommates. The two ate all their meals together, studied together, and played games together. By the time his brothers forgave him, Rosie and Sirius were inseparable and the latter had matured a great deal.

Eventually, after a few months, the other Marauders forgave Sirius, unable to cope with his absence anymore -- they were brothers, after all. Sirius was over the moon and was glad to finally have his brothers back.

6th year went by quickly, far too quickly for anyone's liking. As people matured and learned, darker forces became stronger and more powerful. By 7th year, it was a time of crisis for everyone, and Hogwarts became more than just a school to many. For Rosie, her boyfriend, and best friends, it was a time of growth and discovery. It was their last year of school, and they knew to make it count.

"Well, our schedules are just about the same," Remus said, observing the schedule McGonagall had just handed him.

"Shocker," said James sarcastically, earning a smack from Remus.

"Play nice, boys," Peter said, a grin on his face. Rosie and Lily smiled, looked across to each other, and shook their heads at their playfulness. The Marauders definitely matured but were still as childish as small children.

Rosie looked at the bottom of her schedule, expecting and receiving a note similar to the one from last year. She immediately noticed the differences right away. The message was longer, much longer, and the writing seemed almost commanding. She shook away her thoughts and read the note.

Rosie, lessons will resume on the same schedule. Be warned, it is going to be much more difficult, and I'm sure you know why. We will be focusing more on Defense Against The Dark Arts and various spells. You will still be taught more Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms as they are still important and necessary, however, they will only be held once a week. Your assessments will be more frequent.

I understand that you want to tell your friends about reason behind these lessons, but the time will come soon. Until then, they should only know that you are taking advanced classes. The time will come soon, I promise. Until then,

Albus Dumbledore.

Rosie sighed, she knew the reasons why they were getting harder, but she didn't know if she could handle NEWTs and the lessons. She rolled her shoulders and tilted her head side to side to relax her tense muscles -- it was times like this she wished her parents were still alive so she could talk to them. Sirius noticed her stress immediately and turned to her with worry.