The two weeks of detention involved a lot of scrubbing floors and polishing armours. Catherine thought it wouldn't have been that insufferable if it weren't for Filch. The caretaker and his damn cat had accepted torturing the young Gryffindors as a personal mission. He sent every one of them to different parts of the castle. Catherine was not entirely certain if it was on purpose, but somehow, she always ended up where the most Slytherins were passing by. This resulted in giggles, hissing, and occasional insults thrown her way. Being called a house-elf, a Muggle maid, or a Mudblood servant was definitely unpleasant, but the girl didn't pay it much heed. She didn't think it was offensive to be compared to a house-elf, since in her household the creatures were very respected and well-treated. As for the rest, Catherine found secret pleasure in laughing at those so-called pure-blood jerks, knowing that if they had known about her lineage, they would have been as subservient and obsequious as they were toward her brother. Still, she was glad when the detention was over, and life at Hogwarts returned to normal. The young witch was also concerned about the lost house points, especially after their Quidditch team didn't do well against Ravenclaw in February. If they wanted to win the House Cup, it was necessary to put some effort into earning points for Gryffindor.
Just like that, it was already the end of March. The snow had melted and been replaced by sticky brown mud. The cold wind blew above the naked branches of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. Nevertheless, in the evenings, one could smell the fresh aroma of approaching spring.
Catherine was enjoying the violet dusk, seated by one of the windows in the Gryffindor Tower when Remus approached her and whispered furtively.
"Sirius wants to meet on the third floor in fifteen minutes. He said you know where."
Catherine closed the window and sighed.
"What now?" – she asked.
"It's for James' birthday." – said Remus, looking around anxiously.
"Oh! It's tomorrow, isn't it?" – the girl jumped, alarmed – "Let's go then."
The two of them hurried through the familiar halls of Hogwarts, currently filled with shadows. The last rays of sun coming from the windows illuminated Remus' tired face.
"Has your mother been doing better?" – Catherine asked gently.
"She's still recovering." – answered the boy – "It's good I was allowed to see her. I think she was happy to have me home even for a few days."
Catherine noted that her friend visibly blushed but decided not to dig deeper for the moment. She was not sure if Remus' mother was indeed sick, but the young wizard looked like he needed to spend at least a few days in bed.
They finally reached the statue of the one-eyed witch, where Sirius was waiting for them impatiently.
"You are late! Filch almost caught me." – he complained.
"So what? It's not after curfew. What's the problem of being here?" – asked Catherine unapologetically.
"You know how he is. We most certainly don't want to direct his attention towards this place."
"Will someone please tell me what we are doing here?" – asked Remus.
"We'll explain along the way." – Sirius shushed him – "Let's go before anyone comes. I wish I had a way to know who's nearby. Dissendium!"
The three students quickly passed through the crack behind the one-eyed witch statue and slid down the stone slide.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this earlier." – protested Remus.
"It happened just before the Christmas break; you were sick afterwards, and it slipped my mind. Sorry, mate." – apologised Sirius and lifted his wand a little to better illuminate the narrow path ahead.
"Wouldn't people wonder where we got those snacks, though?" – said Catherine absentmindedly.
"I've already thought about it. We shall say we ordered them on behalf of James for his birthday." – answered Sirius confidently.
"So, we are stealing his birthday gift?" – asked Catherine again.
"No, Miss Goody-two-shoes!" – Sirius retorted – "I brought money with me, we pay for what we take, as per your example."
"Can I give you my part later?" – asked Remus hesitantly.
"Don't worry about it. I have plenty of gold, and so does Flame, although I keep wondering where from." – laughed the other boy.
"None of your business!" – the girl snapped – "But really, Remus, don't worry about it. It's fine."
The three friends continued walking in silence for a while until they finally reached the old staircase and entered the cellar of Honeydukes.
"Don't forget to take some Fudge Flies." – instructed Sirius – "James likes those a lot."
"Are we ready to go?" – asked Catherine after half an hour of wondering in the maze of wooden crates and boxes.
"Almost." – answered Sirius, looking around frantically – "I just want something really special, but I'm not sure what exactly."
"There is a door here." – said Remus from the left corner of the cellar – "Do you think there might be more goods inside?"
"Could be! Let's go and check." – suggested the other boy – "Damn, it's locked."
"Alohomora!" – mumbled Remus pointing his wand towards the lock of the door.
The three kids entered the small, dusty room, filled with old cupboards and broken crates.
"I'm not sure there are any sweets here." – said Catherine, looking at a pile of smashed cartoon boxes.
"Yeah, doesn't look promising." – sighed Sirius, trying to lift the lid of a big, rusty chest. It opened with a dreadful creaking sound.
Suddenly, the lights of their wands disappeared. Catherine felt frozen to the core. Desperation and loneliness were crashing on her like angry waves. It was as if she would never experience happiness in her life again.
"What's happening?" – shouted Remus – "Lumos!"
The weak light of the wand illuminated Sirius, who was trembling on the floor, trying to escape as far as possible from the iron chest and the creature coming out of it.
"Catherine, come here!" – screamed Remus in utter panic – "This is a Dementor!"
Catherine was desperately trying to control her shivering body. Sweat drops were running down her face. In her head, a maniacal female laughter rang lauder and lauder.
"I'm not leaving Sirius here!" – she said firmly, trying her best to make her feet move towards the Dementor.
"We need to use a Patronus Charm!" – cried Remus, grabbing Catherine's hand – "You should not go near! What if it had gone rogue and tries to kiss you?"
"What if it tries to kiss Sirius?" – asked Catherine stubbornly, attempting to free herself from Remus' hand – "Plus, I don't know how to perform a Patronus Charm."
"You don't understand!" – stuttered Remus – "The Dementor's Kiss…"
"I understand perfectly!" – screamed Catherine, turning around to face Remus. Her eyes were sparkling, and her whole body was emitting insane magical power. The boy let go of her hand and took a step back fearfully.
"I'm sorry." – he mumbled, bowing his head.
"I guess we have the best chances if I set it on fire." – said Catherine to herself and took a step towards Sirius, who had almost lost consciousness while the Dementor was no more than a metre away from him. She felt someone run past her and saw Remus launching himself between the creature and Sirius.
Catherine heard a whip-crack sound, and the Dementor disappeared. Instead, there was a silver sphere floating in front of Remus.
"What the actual fuck!" – swore Catherine.
"Oh!" – exclaimed Remus – "I know what this is. It's not a Dementor. It's a Boggart!"
"What a relief!" – said the girl sarcastically – "How do we get rid of it?"
"You need to turn your greatest fear into something amusing." – said the boy and pointed his wand at the Boggart – "Riddikulus!"
The silver sphere deflated with a high-pitched squeak and flew around in spirals like a balloon, landing at Catherine's feet. Once again, there was a whip-crack sound, and the girl found herself face to face with an exact copy of herself, except that the Boggart had glowing red eyes. It opened its mouth, and the maniacal laughter, Catherine had been hearing solely in her head, filled the room. The witch pointed her wand decisively at her doppelganger.
"Riddikulus!"
The hair of the Boggart became bright green and curly like a clown wig before the creature burst into thousands of pieces.
The room went silent. Catherine ran to Sirius' side and tried to help him stand up. He was sobbing uncontrollably, his handsome face a grotesque mask of pure horror. The young witch hugged him gently and caressed his hair. In a minute or two, he stopped shivering, and the girl released him from her arms, looking worryingly at his face. Sirius tried to avoid her gaze, but Catherine was having none of it. She caught his chin and forced him to look into her eyes.
"This stays only between us." – she whispered – "Nothing changes in how either I or Remus see you."
Sirius stared at her wordlessly.
"Do you trust me?" – the girl asked.
He just nodded slightly. Catherine smiled and planted a small peck on the boy's cheek.
"We should leave quickly before someone comes to check about the noise." – warned Remus, and the three of them quickly left through the trapdoor.
"Catherine…" – Remus said while she was passing by him.
"Let's not talk about this for the time being." – she interrupted him softly and hurried to catch up with Sirius in the dark passageway.
***
James' birthday was a complete success. The Common Room was buzzing with chatter and laughter, fuelled by the excellent sweets provided by Honeydukes. Eventually, Professor McGonagall had to come and angrily send everyone to bed.
Initially, James was thrilled by their adventure in Hogsmeade and even regretful since he hadn't participated. However, looking at his friends' stone faces, he decided not to comment on it anymore. Whatever happened in the cellar had deeply affected all three of them. This became apparent by the fact that Remus was purposefully trying to avoid both Sirius and Catherine.
One week later, Catherine was coming back from a late afternoon stroll around the lake, carrying a small bouquet of wild violets when she saw a familiar figure sitting not far away from the Whomping Willow. She quietly approached Remus and sat next to him on the ground. He raised his head in surprise, and the girl noticed traces of tears on his face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you, Flame." – he tried to smile at her – "I come here from time to time when I feel lonely."
At this moment, Catherine spotted a not-too-big white marble stone which looked a lot like an open book.
"What's that?" – she inquired, pointing at the stone.
"It's the Memorial Stone of Hogwarts." – answered Remus – "It's supposed to represent the Book of Life. People come here to pray and feel closer to their loved ones who have died."
"Who do you pray for?" – softly asked the girl.
"My little sister Caelia." – he mumbled.
"What happened to her?" – Catherine continued asking.
"She died when she was just four years old." – admitted Remus, his amber eyes once again filling with tears – "She was killed by a truly vile man who had a fight with my father."
Catherine gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
"He hurt me too." – continued Remus – "But I survived, unlike Caelia. To this day I can't help but feel guilty I got to live, and she was put in the ground. Maybe if I were older, if I were stronger, or smarter I could have protected her."
"These are a lot of 'ifs', Remus." – gently said Catherine, taking the boy's hand in hers – "Why haven't you said anything about that? It's too much of a burden to carry alone."
"I didn't want to bother anyone." – said Remus shyly – "My problems are only mine to solve, regardless how difficult it is. I've been given more chances than I deserve."
Catherine stood up and looked at her friend with a thoughtful expression.
"You know, you may think you are alone, but you are mistaken." – she said – "You stopped being alone from the moment you jumped in front of Sirius in that cellar. It was stupid as hell, but you did it to buy me time to escape, and hopefully help Sirius too. Therefore, Remus Lupin, whether you like it or not, our fates are tied together."
The girl left the stunned Gryffindor boy still sitting next to the Memorial Stone and headed towards the castle. After a few steps, she stopped and turned back smiling at Remus.
"Ah, and next time you feel down, please, bother me!"