From Beginning to End

Chapter 36: Fidelity & Flirtation

The last months of third year passed more quickly than any of the kids would have wanted.

Remus and James' birthdays were a whirlwind of chaos. Parties upon parties with hogsmeade trips and the occasional exam tossed in (They were at a school after all).

April snuck up to them, Gryffindor had lost the Quidditch cup to the Slytherins which did not go over well. The rivaling houses jeered at and egged on one another. It was certainly not all in good fun.

The Gryffindor boys took to pranking the snakes with no mercy and were met with hexing on the daily.

The rivalry, thousands of years old, was set in stone and would not be budging anytime soon. Especially not with the increased unrest throughout Wizarding Great Britain as the war, not talked about amongst Hogwarts' walls for protection of the children, raged on.

However, everyone knew of the war, either hearing of it from family or if muggleborn, from friends. Old prejudices were sprouted once again and Slytherin's win of the quidditch cup meant far more than a stupid sports defeat.

Stella Malfoy came over on occasion to lord the victory over Sirius – She only joking unlike the rest of her companions.

She and Sirius had been raised together, best friends since birth only separated by houses. Both raised in cruel, vindictive households who knew no mercy for the weak and wayward. Both forged from something dark and cunning into ice and fire.

For this reason, despite being innocent, a game between two friends, the banter that was difficult to decode for playfulness or venom or perhaps something else entirely from the outside looking in.

From the outside looking in, one would think there was something more going on between the two; a budding relationship, a love story for the ages.

Remus found himself increasingly frustrated with his friends – or rather Sirius – due to it. The bloke seemed to flirt shamelessly with both Mary and Stella and any other lass who decided to give him a morsel of their attention.

If Remus was in Mary's position he would've quite literally knocked some sense into the boy. Sirius Black appeared to lack complete loyalty when it came to relationships. It was something that angered Remus greatly. Something that hit a bit too close to home.

A few years after being bitten, his father had consumed himself with work, leaving Hope to care for the household and her son. Lyall would come home late often and with time looked happier with each absence instead of worn-down.

By the time Remus was ten, there was no doubt that Lyall was having affairs. The family kept quiet on the matter, knowing there were enough issues amongst them already, but Remus was not stupid and would not let his close friend turn into the replica of a man he despised.

      "Would you make up your mind," Remus hissed one May afternoon.

Sirius looked up from his smirk-off with Stella across the Great Hall. "What do you mean?"

"Stop flirting with Malfoy," Remus snapped. "You have a girlfriend."

There was a spew of pumpkin juice over the table, causing many Gryffindors to shout or grumble in annoyance. Sirius was coughing in shock at such an absurd accusation.

He nearly laughed at the assumption. Did Remus not know him at all?

"Flirting with Stella!" he gasped. "I would never, she's like a sister to me! Bloody hell Moony."

Stella Malfoy was his sister through and through. Anyone who thought otherwise (his parents) were deeply mistaken. Sirius had promised himself years ago that he would never date, let alone marry, a woman belonging to the Sacred twenty-eight. He had more pride and self-respect than that. He would not let his parents win the game that he had created.