It Was Meant to Be

Chapter One

September 1st of Arielle Lupin's final year at Hogwarts dawned bright and clear. The early morning sun cast rays of light across the dew covered fields surrounding the house where she lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. In the distance, she could see the ocean, glittering as if it were a sea of diamonds. The sky was a beautiful blue, and a few fluffy white clouds sailed across it. Far off, in the small forest at the edge of one of the sunburnt, dewy fields, a hawk took off from a tree, soaring away into the sun.
Arielle smiled, and turned away from her window. She walked to her almost empty dresser, and pulled out the only outfit left- a pair of cropped denim pants, and a dark blue T-shirt covered in stars, with the logo of her favorite wizarding band, STARstruck, emblazoned on the front in curly silver letters. She quickly changed from her pajamas into the Muggle clothes, having showered the night before, and then headed into the bathroom to fix her hair and apply her makeup. The night before, she had left her hair brush and makeup case on the bathroom counter. Now, they were gone.
"Remus!" Arielle yelled.
"What?" her cousin yelled back. She thought she heard muffled laughter.
"Did you move my stuff?"
"I never touched it!" Remus replied. "I swear it on my great-great-great uncle Barney's grave."
There was no mistaking the laughter this time. It was familiar..."Sirius Black, give me my stuff back this minute!" Arielle shouted.
"Sirius? There's no Sirius in here, love," his voice called.
"Well, whoever you are, give it back!" Arielle yelled. "Really Sirius. I'm not joking!"
"Gee Ari. I dunno. You're not being very nice, and you didn't say the magic word. I don't really think you deserve to get it back," Sirius said loudly.
Arielle groaned silently, and pulled open the bathroom door. She darted back to her bedroom, opened her Hogwarts trunk, and pulled out her wand. She was, after all, of age now.
"Sirius, give it back now! I'm warning you!"
"No, I don't think I will," Sirius said, sticking his head through the door of Remus' bedroom. He smiled his famous, crooked smile. The one that just about every girl at Hogwarts swooned at.
"Accio makeup! Accio hair brush!" Arielle muttered, flicking her wand.
"Hey! You aren't supposed to do that!" Sirius yelped, as the makeup case and brush

wrenched themselves from his hands, and flew to Arielle.
"Then leave my stuff alone!" Arielle cried. She slammed the door shut, and locked it, then dashed to the bathroom. She slammed that door as well, and put an Imperturbable charm on the door, so that she could finish getting ready in peace. Across the hall, she could here Remus and Sirius laughing. They were so immature! She wondered how Remus could act like he did when he was Head Boy.
"Darn! She's gone and Imperturbed the door to the bathroom!" Sirius whispered.
Arielle sighed, and started to brush out her long, silky, silvery blonde, black streaked hair. She decided to leave it down, and quickly applied a few cosmetics, then glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her dark eyes stared back out of her slightly tanned, thin face. She wondered if Sirius thought she was pretty. Then she wondered why the heck she had thought that. What did she care about Sirius?
"I'm coming out now!" she shouted loudly, and opened the door.
"Get her!" someone yelled, and Sirius and Remus, Sirius only wearing his boxers, leapt to tackle her.
"Protego!" Arielle whispered, and just in time, a shield sprang up around her, protecting her from the attack. Somewhere, the two had gotten Muggle water balloons.
Suddenly, she lost concentration on her charm, and in the second that the shield vanished, Sirius grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to the ground, laughing.
"Sirius! Get off me!" Arielle cried, trying in vain to free herself.
Sirius was laughing his head off, trying to pin her arms down. "Lighten up sweetie. We won't hurt you...badly."
Arielle managed to free one hand, and she used it to smack him hard across the face.
Instantly, he rolled off her. "Ow!" he cried, holding the side of his head. "What the heck did you do that for?"
Arielle jumped to her feet. "Sorry sweetie," she said, mimicking his voice perfectly. "I hope I didn't hurt you...badly."
She crossed to her room, unlocked the door with a prod of her wand, then slammed it behind her.

"Someone's in a bad mood," she heard Sirius say to Remus. She rolled her eyes, and put the rest of her stuff into the trunk, and slammed the lid. She slid her wand into the waistband of her jeans, just in case...
"Remus! Arielle! Sirius!" the voice of her aunt, Marianna, called up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready, and you better come and eat now! We have a bit of a drive, remember? Jessikah and Chris can't Apparate yet!"
Jessikah and Chris were Remus's little sister and brother. Jessikah was a second year, and Chris was a fourth year.
"Locomotor Trunk," Arielle said. Her trunk lifted a few feet off the ground, and she moved it in front of her, opening the door, and carefully levitating it downstairs. The hallway was, luckily, Sirius and Remus free. When she got downstairs, she let the trunk fall to the floor

by the front door, then walked down the hall to the kitchen.
"Morning Ari, dear," Marianna said, beaming at her niece, while she heaped eggs and bacon onto a plate for Chris. "Are Sirius and Remus up yet? I thought I heard them..."
"They're up alright," Arielle muttered, picking Iolena, her three year old sister, up, and hugging her.
"Ari! Lemme go!" Ioli cried, struggling hard. Arielle laughed and set her back down.
"Sorry Ioli," she said cheerfully. Though Arielle had lived with her cousins since she was eleven, it was only a few weeks ago that her mum had turned up with Iolena, the sister no one in the Lupin family knew about, and left her in the care of her brother, George, and sister-in-law, Marianna. Luckily, Ioli was an affectionate child, and had fit right in with everyone.
Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist, and pulled her backwards. "Morning Ari, pearl of my heart. You are like rain on a desert flower...so refreshing..."
"Sirius, if that was supposed to be poetry...Well, it's really no surprise you can't keep a girlfriend for more than a few days." Arielle said, rolling her eyes yet again.
"Well sorry. Can't you take a compliment?" Sirius asked, arm still around her waist.
"That wasn't a compliment. You were making fun of me. And if you could let go of me now, that would be wonderful," Arielle said, but this time her voice wasn't angry.
"I don't wanna!" Sirius said.
"Well, I would like to sit down now, and I can't with you hanging on to me," Arielle said, trying to pull away.
Sirius sighed. "I dunno Ari. Maybe you'll have to sit on my lap."
"Sirius Black! You're as bad as James is with Lily, but you don't even like me! Let go!" Arielle exclaimed, trying again to pull away.
"Fine, be that way," Sirius said , sounding slightly hurt, and removing his arm.
"Thank you," Arielle said, smiling sweetly at him, and sitting down next to Jessikah, who was laughing hysterically. "Jessi! Chris! Ioli! Be quiet!" she cried. All three of them were laughing. So was Remus, who had come in behind Sirius, and Marianna.
"Guys! Stop!" Sirius said indignantly, sitting down between Arielle and Chris.
"Morning Sirius, Remus," Marianna said, smiling at them. "Remus love, sit down! You're still looking a bit peaky...Did you two sleep at all last night?" Marianna asked, bustling around, dishing up plates of eggs and bacon, and passing them around to everyone.
"Thanks Mum," Remus said, smiling and accepting a plate. His fringe was in his eyes, and his mother brushed it back briskly. He rolled his eyes at Arielle and Sirius, who laughed slightly.