Stars {Remus Lupin} ✓

24. STAYING AT HOGWARTS

| CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR |

STAYING AT HOGWARTS.

"WHY DO YOU LOOK SO on edge?" James' voice broke Sirius out of his trance. 

The grey eyed boy was staring at the sliding door of the compartment, his leg was bouncing uncontrollably and he didn't seem to hear anything else his friends were talking about.

"She told me she'd sit with us," Sirius finally replied, his eyes stayed glued to the door, hoping that it would slide open and his sister would enter with her famous cheeky grin on her face.

"Who?" Peter questioned, looking up from his sweets and pastries. 

"Cass."

The name caused Remus to glance up from his book. His tired eyes looked over at Sirius as the three vials of Wolfsbane suddenly felt heavy in his trouser pocket. 

"Isn't she staying at Hogwarts?" Peter's voice caused the three boy to look at him with completely shocked faces, "What?" He questioned, looking confused.

"What do you mean she's staying at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked, his eyes finally snapped from the door as he shared a worried look with Remus and James. The Slytherin girl was his only sister and he definitely didn't want her spending Christmas - one of the most happy holidays in the year - alone in her dorm.

Peter's cheeks reddened, "I-I overhead her and Olivia talking the other day," He explained, smiling sheepishly.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Sirius' voice got louder as his eyes widened. If he had known he would've tried to persuade the black haired girl to come with them, spend the Christmas holiday in a happy household. 

"I thought you knew!" Peter exclaimed, his eyes wide with genuine shock.

Remus felt his heart ache suddenly. The thought of Cassiopeia spending the full two weeks locked up in her dormitory whilst everyone else was having fun, eating Christmas dinner together and opening presents. His bloodshot eyes finally broke away from Sirius and he looked up at the luggage rack. His eyes practically boring lasers in the side of his bag, where a certain small box was neatly tucked away. 

Suddenly, Sirius jumping out of his seat caught everyone's attention. They watched as he stormed over to the sliding door.

"Where are you going?" Remus questioned.

Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder he looked at Remus, his face softening when he noticed the deeply saddened look on his werewolf best friend's face, "I'm going to talk to Liv. See what the fuck is going on," He stated and before anyone else could reply, the grey eyed boy was already out of the compartment, his legs moving fast as his eyes scanned each and every compartment for the blonde Hufflepuff. 

When he finally spotted her, her nose deep in a muggle book he entered her compartment, catching her off guard.

"Sirius?" She looked utterly confused, "What are you doing here?" Olivia asked. She placed a book mark in the book before closing it shut, keeping in on her knees as her baby blue eyes watched her best friend's brother taking a seat opposite her.

"Where's Cass?"

Liv's eyes suddenly widened. She knew Cassiopeia didn't tell her older brother about her Christmas plans, but by the look on Sirius' face she knew that he knew, "W-What?"

"Is Cass spending her Christmas at Hogwarts?" Sirius interrogated. He saw Liv's face fall and instantly he knew that Peter was telling the truth. He could feel his shoulders deflating, the thought of his sister spending Christmas alone really got to him, especially after the fact that she spend the whole summer holiday cooped up in her bedroom. It wasn't fair for the young girl. She was a teenager. She was suppose to have fun, spend time with her friends and an actually loving family.

Olivia sighed, her own shoulder deflating too, "She is," The blonde said truthfully, "I tried to convince her to come with me, but she refused."

"Why?"

"Because Regulus is there too," The Hufflepuff confessed.

Sirius sighed, "Of course he is," He mumbled, "I should've known."

"She'll be fine, Sirius," Liv said after a moment of awkward silence. She had never spend time alone with Cass' brother and the sadness from him was seeping out, causing an awkward tension to fill the air, "You know she's happy when she's around him."

"It's just not fair," The black haired boy sighed, rubbing his face tiredly, "But you're right. Thanks, Liv," He said as he stood back up, exiting the compartment before the blonde could reply.

The oldest Black boy walked back to the Marauders' compartment. His head hanging low and a saddened expression in his eyes. He missed his sister. He missed spending holidays with her. As emotionless as the girl liked to act, whenever the three siblings were together and alone, she was more open than ever. But ever since he moved out, well, ran away, he noticed a significant change in his sister. A change that made her even more shut off from the world. And he was definitely going to break down her walls, no matter how hard she tried to keep them all up.