Sirius was quiet for a while after Karolyn had told him about her demon. The silence was incredibly uncomfortable for her. It stretched for so long that she almost thought he'd regretted what he said just moments before. He didn't love her, how could he when he knew what she was. He was probably scared of her like everyone else were... No, not everyone else. Remus understood her, he wasn't scared of her.
Eventually Sirius spoke, "Do you know how the... uhm... demon acts around animals? Does it only attack other humans or does it attack animals as well when you're... possessed?"
Karolyn was taken aback. That was not the response she was prepared for. "I..." she was speechless, "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Sirius inquired, seeming quite curious.
"I black out when it possesses me. I don't know what I do, I don't know if I hurt animals. But why is that even relevant?" She sighed. It didn't make sense to her, that Sirius stood there talking about animals, when she had just told him she was most likely going to die, because a demon had taken hold of her spirit, and was trying to kill her.
"I can't say. Next time you feel it happening, just tell me, Remus, James or Lily. We can help. I think it's a bad idea telling you what I have in mind, if the demon is listening. Just trust me. I have an idea." Sirius said calmly.
"But,"
"No buts. Tell us if you feel like it's going to happen. We can help you."
"It's dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt, Sirius."
"I won't get hurt. I run around with a werewolf, I think I can handle you." He said as he carefully cupped her cheek with a hand. "Trust me."
Karolyn closed her eyes and sighed heavily, "Okay, if you're sure." She was shocked when Sirius lightly pecked her lips, and she opened her eyes again, and looked straight into his.
"I am." He smiled as he ran his fingers through Karolyn's long hair. "You're so beautiful. May I kiss you again?" he shocked her again. She hadn't thought he was the kind of guy to ask permission to kiss anyone.
"You can't. Strong emotions trigger the demon. I cannot allow myself to get lost in my emotions, it gives the demon a soft spot to break through and take over. I'm afraid to fall in love with you. I'm afraid that if I do, I won't be able to... I'm afraid I'll be possessed until the demon finally kills me."
"What does that mean for us?" Sirius looked slightly defeated. Karolyn took his hands in hers, and looked down at them.
"I don't know." His hands tensed, and she let them go. Looking into his eyes again, she could see the disappointment that she felt herself. If only she could be with him. She wanted nothing more, but she just couldn't do it. It was too dangerous. It would be the end of her if she opened her heart to Sirius.
"I have to go, but remember to tell any of us if you feel anything. We're ready to help." Sirius said before carefully kissing her cheek. He turned and went back to the castle where Remus still stood by the entrance waiting to hear what had just gone down between Sirius and Karolyn.
"You knew?" Sirius asked and Remus nodded, "Lily and James... they knew too?" Sirius felt left out. All of his closest friends knew about this, and they hadn't told him. He understood that it wasn't their secret to tell, but they still should have said something to him.
"Yes. Karolyn apparently attacked James a while ago in the dungeons during one of his evening patrols. And when he came back an hour later than usually, Lily accused him of seeing some other girl, or something, and he had to tell her something had happened, but he didn't want to spill Karolyn's secret. You know how he gets around her. He can't keep his mouth shut, that lovestruck fool. Karolyn then told Lily everything because she needed help with a potion to keep the demon contained, and Severus didn't want to help her anymore. I know because Lily accidentally told me some of it. She just wanted Karolyn to have someone to talk to. You know, someone who understands what it's like to be..."
"Different. Yeah I get it. But I still feel like I should have known. Someone should've told me long ago." Sirius muttered sourly.
"We wanted her to tell you. So now you know. Do you feel any differently about her? She was terrified that you'd hate her like Severus does."
"No. Of course I don't feel differently about her. Just like I didn't feel differently about you when we found out your secret. I can handle weird. But she said she can't be with me. We can't have a relationship because the demon is always looking for soft spots, from where it can take over. And especially emotional soft spots are dangerous." Sirius said slowly.
"I'm sorry Padfoot, that's awful. But that just means we have to do everything we can to help her get the thing out of her." Remus said, making Sirius's almost-broken heart sound like encouragement to help Karolyn.
"Sure. I guess you can look at it that way. Until we figure out how to cure her of this... thing. I have a theory that she might not hurt animals. So we can probably put our animagus skills to good use more than once a month. Hopefully the demon doesn't mind dogs and deer. We can prevent it from killing her." Sirius said hopefully.
"You might be on to something, Sirius. Let's find Lily and James and tell them about your idea. It's probably only you and James who can help. But it's still worth telling them."
"What about Peter?" Sirius asked
"We shouldn't bring more people into this than necessary. Besides, what good can a rat do to prevent a demon from killing it's vessel?" Remus chuckled slightly.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's find Evans and Prongs."
"It's a good idea in theory, but what if the demon dislikes animals just as much as humans. You'll be dead in seconds. Both of you. I'm not sure you should risk it. It's too dangerous." Lily said, then looking at James, she continued, "I can't lose you, James. I don't want you doing this." James sighed and looked at Sirius and Remus helplessly.
"What if it could help Karolyn?" Remus said.
"I just think it's too dangerous." Lily sighed.
"How can it be more dangerous than running around with Moony here once a month? He occasionally tries to kill us too." Sirius joked, playfully hitting Remus's shoulder.
"Well, I can't help it." Remus chuckled.
"And neither can Karolyn. We just need to keep her from drowning herself, or throwing herself off the astronomy tower, when the demon is possessing her." Sirius said calmly, "How about I follow her the first time? If she tries to attack me, I'll run away faster than you can say Hogwarts. If she doesn't attack me, I'll stay with her until she's herself again." He proposed, "I just need you to tell me if she is acting weird, or if she tells any of you that she thinks it's about to happen, come to me immediately so I can help her. Please."
The other three looked at each other, before agreeing with Sirius.
"Sure, we'll help you." James said, patting his friend on the back.
"Thank you. I'm positive it'll work." Sirius said confidently. Lily looked concerned at him. She was still not convinced. "Don't worry, Evans. It'll be fine."
"Karolyn! Wait up!" The dark-haired girl squeezed her purple eyes shut for a second, dreading the conversation she knew she was about to have with Regulus. She opened her eyes again and turned to face Regulus, who came running towards her through the hallway.
"Hello, Reg." She said, forcing a smile on the lips, when he finally caught up to her. He smiled at her, and she noticed a faint blush coloring his cheeks. She knew what this was going to be about, she had encouraged him a while ago. Something she regretted now.
"How are you doing?" He inquired, as they both started walking again.
"I'm all right, I guess."
"Is anything wrong, Karolyn?" He asked, his voice laced with concern. Karolyn tried to laugh it off, she did not need anymore people to find out about her.
"No, no, I just didn't sleep well." She said, faking a yawn to support her statement. "I'm sure I'll feel better when I get some sleep."
"I actually wanted to ask you something else." Regulus stopped walking, and grabbed Karolyn's hand. She stopped as well, and turned to look at him.
"Are you going out with my brother?"
"What?" Karolyn was taken aback. That was not the question she thought he'd ask her. He laughed uncomfortably.
"I just wanted to know if I still have a chance, or if I should just give up. Are you and Sirius in a relationship?" He asked slowly, sounding slightly defeated.
Karolyn didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure what she and Sirius was. Especially not after their last conversation. He had told her he was in love with her, no matter what, but he said that before he learned her secret. She wasn't sure he still meant it, he hadn't really reacted to her telling him she was possessed. He just said he'd try to help her, to fix her. Just like everyone else. She'd hoped he would have said that it didn't matter that she was possessed by a demon, he still loved her. But he hadn't said that. She couldn't really demand that from him either. Who could love a freak like her? Of course, he didn't run for the hills either, like her brother did.
But what were they now? He had asked to kiss her, but she rejected him. She couldn't open herself up emotionally to anyone, it would give the demon exactly what it needed to take over again. They were friends, who liked each other, but they weren't in a relationship. But should she tell Regulus they were? If he thought she was dating Sirius, he would back off and wouldn't bother her about going out again. But on the other hand, she hating lying.
"No. We're not. But I like him, so I won't give you false hope. If you ask me out, I'll say no. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Sirius. I'm sorry Regulus, but you need to know this."
"Severus was right, you are a freak." It was like a punch in the gut, where did that come from? "Why would you even go for him? He's such a..."
"A what? A sweet guy? As opposed to you, I guess. I didn't know you were so superficial. Why did you even like me Regulus? Is it my personality, or is it my Veela genes that attracted you to me? I can't believe I even considered going out with you!" Karolyn was shouting towards the end of her rant. She felt something stir in her stomach, and her vision was blurring at the edges. "I have to go." She said as calmly as she could. And then she ran.
Karolyn found a quiet hallway, and sat down by the wall. Trying to control her breathing.
"You won't get me this time." She muttered to herself continuously in between deep breaths. In and out. In and out. "I can control this." Come on, in and out. In and out. Deep breaths. But her breaths became more ragged, and she knew it wasn't going to work. Of course she couldn't control it. What was she thinking? She felt the tears sting in her eyes and shut them. She knew her eyes would be completely black when she opened them again. It was happening. In the middle of the day, in a hallway where people could come by any second.
"Karolyn?" She recognized James's voice. It brought her over the edge. Her eyes flew open and James took a step back in surprise. He had experienced it before, but the menacing look in her pitch black eyes, and the way her body was tensed, ready to pounce was enough to make him want to run for the hills. But he couldn't, he'd promised Sirius he'd help out, so as quickly as he could he sent a patronus charm non-verbally towards Sirius. They had agreed that it was the fastest and best way to communicate with each other if they were in a demon situation.
"Karolyn, try to relax. The demon is only in control because you've given it the opportunity. Please, listen to me." James begged. But Karolyn just hissed at him, baring her teeth, moving closer each second.
"She can't hear you." The demon said in a raspy singsong.
"You say that every time. I get it. That doesn't mean I'll stop trying to get her to hear me." James sounded exasperated, he almost laughed at how normal he sounded talking to a demon who could probably kill him in seconds.
The demon laughed loudly, "Why do you insist on trying to save this pathetic creature," it gestured towards the body it was trapped in, "think about how much easier your life would be if you'd just let me go down to the lake. Everything would be so much easier if Karolyn wasn't around. Think about it, James. Just let me pass, don't tell anyone you saw me. And I promise I won't hurt anyone on my way out. Leave me alone and you'll survive. Fight me, and you'll die faster than you could even pull out your wand."
James swallowed. The demon hurt people who fought it, not only Karolyn but everyone who helped her. That's why it had attacked him the first time, it was also the reason it attacked Snape. He had been helping Karolyn suppress it. It hurt Adira Malfoy because she tried to help Karolyn as well. The demon was prepared to do anything to get out. It needed Karolyn to die. Everyone in it's way were going to die. Maybe it was a good thing Sirius hadn't told Karolyn about his plan, if she didn't know, the demon wouldn't know either.
If James let her go, she would go somewhere to kill Karolyn, maybe it was worth a try.
"Wouldn't it be easier to go to the Astronomy Tower instead of the lake?" James said, "If you go to the lake, people will see you trying to drown Karolyn and they'll try to help. If you go to the Tower, you won't meet anyone on your way and you can just throw your body out from there. No one will stop you."
Karolyn's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What are you getting at? What's your plan to stop me?"
"No plan. You're right. Everything would be better if Karolyn wasn't here."