It was late, the skies pitch black and the rain beat down against the windows. Nora came to the Gryffindor common room to see Lily but sadly she wasn't there so instead Sirius snuck her inside to hang out as he was already sat on the sofa, staring at the fire alone. They sat for a while chatting about random odds and ends, enjoying how relaxed they felt. Sirius got up and tended to the fire, leaving Nora as she sat watching. Grabbing her wand, she waved it towards the stereo in the corner, firing up the muggle stations.

"And now a classic for those finding their way through a strong feeling... stay wonderful folks" the radio DJ's voice sprung to life before Fooled Around and Fell in Love by Elvin Bishop came on. Nora's eyes went wide and looked down at her book as the music played, trying her hardest not to listen to the lyrics because the more she listened, the more it was about Sirius.

Sirius slowly stood from the fire and turned to look at her. He too knew this song was pretty much about him, Remus would sing it from time to time when Sirius would come back to their dorm looking all smitten. He watched her blush, tucking her hair behind her ears and wanted nothing more than to be near her.

"Come here" He muttered, replicating the relaxing empty atmosphere of his common room.

With a questioning frown, Nora rose from the plush cushion, placing her book down and walked to meet at the fireplace. Without hesitation, his right hand slipped to her hip, pulling her towards his chest as his other hand took her right one, their bodies in a dancing stance. As they began to sway, Nora didn't know where to look. Sirius had his eyes locked on her face, a permanent look of satisfaction on his face. He let go of her hand for a second to lift her chin by his index finger so her eyes would meet his, her cheeks flushing already.

"We don't have a normal friendship, Nora..." he hummed by her ear as he took her hand and began swaying again.

"We don't?" She gave a soft sigh as her eyes closed, enjoying the swaying.

"Don't play dumb with me, Darlin" he pulled her closer, her eyes popping open followed by her tender sweet giggles. He spun her, thankful that it was just the two of them with the warm fire. He would be mortified if his friends saw him dancing like this.

A voice snapped him out of it, pulling away from Nora. The common room door opened and the voice of authority slowly drifted in. Looking at each other with panic stricken eyes, Sirius pulled Nora towards the window, grabbing the thick curtains and covered her. To his luck, she didn't protest.

She stood there, holding her breath and listening out for the footsteps, hoping to Merlin that no-one could sense she was there.

"Black, will you leave the curtains alone" Professor McGonagall's voice became present.

"Minnie! What a lovely surprise! Come to confiscate more stuff? I'll show you upstairs shall I?" Sirius spun around with his arms open wide like a ring leader conducting his circus. Sirius truly was a show off.

"It's been a while since you've last received detention. Would you like to join Mr Potter and Pettigrew this evening??" She sighed, unamused by his shameless taunting.

"Alas, dear Minerva, I have to see a girl about studying!" He flopped on the couch with a big dopy grin.

"Just one girl? She must be special" McGonagall smirked at the state of one of her most troublesome students.

"Very" he voice cracked slightly as he cleared his throat, grinning down as he grabbed the glass of water he left on the side

Nora, still behind the curtains, stood silent but with a heavy feeling in her stomach, twisting and doing backflips. She was warm and there was no chance of her cooling down.

Once the coast was clear, she popped her head out from the curtain, resulting in water shooting out of Sirius' nose, followed by his angelic laughter.

- - - - -

A week passed and Nora wanted to take it to a new level. With her courage and sense of adventure increasing over the year and now at the peak of it, she found herself in the darkness of the forest, fog hovering an inch above the ground and her wand drawn as she slowly and tentatively tread across the forest floor, her strong vision catching everything in sight. She figured out Remus' next cycle and despite the number of protests from not only Sirius but a very stern Remus, she went ahead and wanted to find out for herself.

She followed along a trail until she found herself on the outskirts of the darkest parts, creatures of all kinds lurking around and watching Nora with hungry and tantalising eyes. Keeping alert, she came to a clearing between the Shrieking Shack and the forest, finding the group she had been waiting to see. She watched uncomfortably and horrified as Remus rived in pain, the skin from his back ripping apart and his wolf form body stretching out from his feet, growing from his lanky 5,11 stature to a stalking 6,10 height of seething wolf. She then looked at Sirius, transforming into the large dog, blinking and shivering slightly as she imagined the feeling of it. Her breath hitched and she saw Remus' wolf form howl mightily into the night sky, the moon blazing high above them; large and bright. Nora was obsessed with astronomy and the moon, finding great comfort from it ever since she was a young girl. Seeing how much pain it caused her friends, she felt a twinge of sadness for them, knowing that they would never experience it in the same way she did.

Testing her bravery, foolish as it was, Nora stepped down from behind the tree to reach the next one closer, trying her luck to get as close as possible. She managed it, keeping as quiet as she could. Her eyes were fixed on James and Sirius in their animagus form, trying to imagine what it would be like to be a Labrador, which was her patronus. Now as close as she could be, she saw Remus in detail; his three friends kept him close to the shrieking shack and then it suddenly dawned on her; What on earth was she doing here...

She could feel her throat closing up, every inch of her skin raising in goosebumps, sweating and shivers. She turned her back to the tree, dropping down and brought her knees to her chest, closing her eyes and wishing for them to move some place else so she could escape. She could hear footsteps, or paw prints, step close to the side of the tree she used as a shield. Meeting eyes, fearfully with whom had found her, she tensed again, scrunched her eyes shut and felt her body turning to stone.

The footprints left her, a sudden growl and snarling began between who she presumed was Sirius and Remus. Unable to bare the noise, she peaked around and saw Sirius trying to fight Remus away from the forest and towards the shrieking shack, James and Peter following along. With one swift blow from James' antlers, they pushed Remus out of sight and away from the forest. With her window of opportunity, she legged it towards the forest opening but felt a hand wrapped around her bicep, catching her and keeping her in place. She looked over her shoulder to see a face she never wanted to experience. Sirius didn't say a word as he speedily escorted her through the forest, his strong grip never leaving her bicep. It hurt Nora but she was expecting it. Back on the side facing the Hogwarts grounds, he pushed her against a tree before he erupted and so the yelling began;

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!! THIS ISN'T HIDE AND SEEK NORA! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HURT!" His voice echoed for miles, her worry of someone catching them stood at the front of her mind. He let go and paced back and forth, his jaw tight and stiff. He stopped as he heard no protest back, only the sight of the hard expression from her, arms folded like a sassy pissed teenager. "What if something happened to you " He sighed, lowering his voice as to not set her off further. Nodding in agreement, she gave him a hard pressed smile and sighed through her nostrils.

"I couldn't help it - it's been eating away at my curiosity since last year and you know what i want to do after we leave this place. Newt Scammander is my HERO and if I want to explore beasts and train them then I need to be close to them. You've seen me with the professor and why I volunteer so much. It was stupid that I did it alone, I know, but it happened regardless..." She tried to explain, her voice shaky from the experience. She had gotten better at standing up for herself.

Sirius dropped his head, putting his hands on his hips, every ounce of him was trying not to go soft on her but keep his stern face; he was struggling. He looked up again to see that she had moved over to a rock, sitting on it and resting her chin on her knees. Slowly, he walked over and placed his hand on her head, gently stroking it as she sulked on the rock. She looked up and found his hand against her cheek. Her large glossy eyes had him captured in her beauty, every drop of fear in his body began to melt, trying his best to shake off what could have happened if he wasn't there.

He crouched down, jaw tight and sleeves rolled up. "You may be a princess but you're no damsel.... so stop being one. You scared me out there which is ironic because I have to kick Remus' wolfy arse every month!" He tried his hardest to keep his voice stern but he was putty. Nora grinned, flattered by his protective demeanour

"You look so odd as a dog! I hate to imagine how many times you and James have used your animagus form to get girls to come stroke the puppy!" Nora rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less. Sirius threw his head back and laughed, nodding as she was right. Nora laughed with him but stopped as she looked at the sight before her; the bright full moon in the sky, lighting up the night and placed just above Sirius' head. She bit her lip and sighed at how beautiful it was.

"What..." Sirius whispered, a burning desire to lean in and kiss her. She let out a breathy chuckle and rested her hand over his.

"As a little girl, when I wasn't getting along with my siblings, I would go out into my garden, lay on my back and talk to the moon. I found when it was a full moon, it would listen to me better. The moon has always been a big part of who I am. I feel it's presence and it keeps me grounded. To know that you and the others see in a different way, is heart breaking." She started, looking away from his eyes and upwards towards the sky. He let go, sat beside her and took her hand as he looked up.

"When I'm not with Remus I feel the same." he muttered, rubbing the back of her hand. She looked over at him as he looked upwards to the night sky, her heart pounding at a million miles an hour. From what once was a rude, annoying pig like man, she was now sat before a man who had learnt the ways of compassion, strength, loyalty and kindness. She too also thought about her journey... sat on that rock wasn't the anxious and lonely mess of a girl anymore and sat on that rock also wasn't the broken and tormented boy but instead two people, by the ways of finding each other, had grown up.

He glanced over at her again, the left side of her face illuminated by the moon which gave a soft twinkle in her eye. She looked warm and cozy, wrapped up in a soft cotton turtle neck and the flare jeans he was obsessed with so much. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear which instantly caught her attention to him once more. They looked at each other in the silence; the wind, crickets and night creatures playing a beautiful melody before them. Sirius felt content, still gently caressing her hand in his.

"What are we gonna do about this unspoken thing?" He scooted closer to her side

"What thing?" She smirked. She knew what he meant and like him, she knew that this thing between them was completely far from platonic now

"Us. Me and You. Nora we've been at this for a while now..."

Nora bit her lip at his statement, slowly nodding her head in agreement as her eyes remained on his. She could see that he was thinking of what to say next and she was hanging onto every word. "One minute you were annoying and easy to tease and now here I am, saving your butt every five minutes but for some fucked up reason, I can't stop." His voice dropped and he pulled her close to him. Nora chuckled, shaking her head. Hearing a small howl in the distance, a shiver ran down him and internally groaned at the timing.

"I need to get back to Remus." Sirius cleared his throat, standing up and held out his hand to assist Nora up. Taking it immediately, he pulled her close to him, his hands on her hips as he looked down at her.

"Go to bed. Understand?"

She nodded, her eyes fixated on him and the moon above him again "Come back in one piece?"

"I'm sure I will... James however, I'm sure he's probably pulp by now." Sirius snorted. Nora groaned at the thought and rested her head in his chest. Smelling her sweet perfume again, it took every fibre in his being not to have her there and then. However, taking a huge step, he dropped his head down and placed his lips on her forehead, feeling her freeze below him. He pulled away quickly and backed into the forest "Sleep." he winked before he turned back into his dog form and into the night.

"I miss you already." Nora whispered as she watch him disappear.