Hello! Again... I'm wiping the dust and cobwebs off this story and going in for a third time. Let's hope this time is the charm, no? I really hated how I wrote this last time because I knew I could do better so I'm rewriting each chapter to make it better than brand new and less cringy. Also, I'll have more time to write this because I'm not as focused on writing my non-fanfiction books since I just finished with one, and figured I'd take a break by writing fanfiction.

*A foreword before you get started on this story. I've written on this site before with this same story. However, I decided to come back and rewrite it. It has a different name and I have a new account. Before, it was called "Because of You" by Cutiebugg713. I've rebranded myself. I didn't want anyone to think that I'm plagiarizing someone; I would never stoop that low. Same person, same concept, different story.*

Eleven years old – August 31, 1971

I slip out of bed as the need to star-gaze grows stronger. My bare feet pad past James' room. The silence is brutally disrupted when I step on an Exploding Snap card. I hop around on one foot, holding the other one as the burn slowly fades away. I breathe in a deep breath and stand still, listening for any signs that James is awake. After a tense moment his snores start back up. I head downstairs to the backyard.

The sky is perfectly clear. Against the silhouettes of the trees, the sky looks more like a dark, navy blue with specks of glittering, white dots. I've always loved the stars; it's the one thing I can never get sick of. there's just something about them that is so enticing. Their ability to shine down on Earth from billions of miles away, their light unwavering...

If stars can keep it up from that distance, then surely James and I can keep in touch.

"Hey." Startled, I fall out of my chair, my bum landing firmly on the dewy grass. James begins to laugh, his eyes scrunching together as he holds his gut. Any other time I would've joined in, or pulled him down with me. This time, however, I burst into tears, unable to hold them in anymore. I've been trying not to show James how sad I am over us not going to the same schools, but I can't handle it anymore. I try to hide my face in the shadows of the night but my sobs escape my throat.

James stops laughing and kneels down next to me. "I'm sorry for laughing. Are you hurt?" I turn away from him more, "Corey, talk to me."

I shake my head, not trusting my voice. "Did you hurt yourself?" I shake my head as he repeats his answer.

"Are you scared?" This time I nod my head.

"About going to different schools?" His voice is bitter. He's known about us separating ways when schools begins, but I'm sure he'd understand if he knew why. But I can't tell him about that. Ever. "Look, I'm not happy about it either, but I won't be that bad. We'll definitely see each other on Christmas and Easter holiday. You're tough enough to survive that, right?" He grabs my hands, spinning me around to face him.

I wipe my face on my night shirt and smile. His hair is particularly messy, pushed up on one side from how he was sleeping. His brown eyes are wide with encouragement. I throw my arms around him, hugging him furiously. "It's not that, James," I mutter into his shoulder. I feel him wrap his arms around my back, "I'm afraid," my voice quivers when I finally admit it.

"Of what?"

I push out of the hug as a new wave of tears surge forward. "Wha- what if you forget about me? Or- or- or we grow apart? I... I," I trail off off stuttering, something that happens when I'm scared or sad or worried.

James pulls me back into a hug, stroking my hair down my back, "Shh, that's not going to happen. You may have only been in this family for two years, but I love you like you're my real sister. You are my real sister. Don't ever doubt that, okay?" He holds me by my shoulders, locking eyes with me, "We're going to talk to each other as much as we can. We're going to tell each other about everything so we don't miss a thing. It's going to feel like we're both going to Hogwarts. I promise."

Thirteen years old – July 5, 1972

"Corey! Wake up!"

I wince as a pillow hits me in the head. "James! What is your deal?" I grab the pillow off my face and throw it in what I believe is his direction. It hits the floor with a thump instead.

"My friend Remus is here. Don't be rude." I feel an uneven weight press down at the foot of my bed.

"Excuse me, I'm not the one who is throwing pillow at their sister." I complain but pull my blanket off me. I'm met with James towering above me, trying to gain balance as he stands on my bed.

James jumps down looking a little disappointed. "You never let me bounce on your bed anymore."

"James, no. That's because you broke it the last two times, you fatty." I roll out of bed, flipping my long, knotted blond hair behind my shoulders.

"Excuse me, I am no fatty. I am light as a feather, with perfect aerodynamic shoulders. I have to be to be a Chaser." James wiggles his fingers in my face before reaching down for my wrist.

He drags me down to the kitchen, refusing to let me get dressed or brush my hair. Mum and Dad are sitting at the table, but there's an extra body. A skinny boy sits at the table, picking at his breakfast. His light brown, flecked with leftover soot, falls into his eyes. If he's not careful, Mum will want to give it a trim. His clothes are shabby and falling off his thin frame. He looks up as James and I barrel into the room, and I have to hold back a gasp. Running across his face is a shiny, pink scar, too new to not notice.

I quickly look away. Having scars of my own, I know how it feels when people stare. Gathering my wits, I walk up to him and smile, "Hi, you must be Remus."

He stands up, extending his hand to me, "And I'm guessing you're Corey. James has told me all about you. Never shuts up, really."

"Tell me about it. All I've heard these past few days is Remus this and Remus that. Feels like I know you on a personal level. I finally nice to meet you." I gesture for him to sit back down and move to my own chair. Beaming, James joins us at the table sitting beside Remus. James grabs half the stack of pancakes, shoving a whole one into his mouth. I stare in disgust as Mum giggles like she always does when James acts like a wild animal.

After breakfast, us kids head outside. It's a nice day with no clouds in sight. The night sky is going to be wonderful. As the boys head out into the yard, I sit down in a chair. Now out in the morning sun, I can see more scars all over Remus. I haven't seen anyone with scars like that since before I became a Potter. I freeze. It couldn't be! I study Remus' face; he seems so innocent, too young to live a curse like that. Yet, as I continue to stare at him, I see how tired he is despite the wide smile on his face.

Old memories push their way to the front of my mind. I stand up and stagger toward the house, only stopping when James calls after me. "Where you going, Core?"

I plaster a smile on my face before turning to face him, "Just, the uh, bathroom!"

James starts to say something, but I turn and run back into the house. Mum and Dad are nowhere to be seen, which I'm grateful for. I rush up to my room and close the door. I stay there for the rest of the day, claiming that girl things have happened to ward off James. It works, but then Mum starts knocking on my door every hour. Each time I pretend to be sleeping.

However, avoiding Remus for the duration of his stay here is just plain rude. I try my best to act normal around him, but every time I let my guard down, bad memories would pop up and ruin the mood. I'm sure James has caught on to my mood, but he's nice enough to not say anything. On the night of the new moon, I creep out to the backyard. I'm surprised to see Remus out here, staring up at the moonless sky.

I move to sit beside him wordlessly. He startles a bit at my presence. I clasp my hands together as I try to think up something to say. My eyes trail from the grass, to Remus, then to the sky. "The stars always seem brighter at the new moon." I glance at the boy beside me as I speak. Remus stiffens.

"I should go back to bed." He moves to stand up but I catch his wrist.

"Remus,"

"Really Corey, I"m tired." He wrenches his wrist out of my hand and heads for the doors.

"I know you're a werewolf." I don't know what makes me blurt this. I've been turning the words over and over in my head, trying to find the truth in them, trying to believe it. Remus is still as he finds an interest in his feet.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

I gasp, "I would never!" Although, it's part of the truth.

"Did James tell you?"

I shake my head, urging him to sit back down, "I kind of figured it out your first day here."

"Wow, it took your brother two years to figure it out."

I laugh, "Well, he's not the most observant, is he?"

Remus joins in while shaking his head, but then the smile drops off his face. "Ha- have you met one before? Is that how you knew?"

I nod my head, tracing a long scar on my leg, "Yeah, Greyback. He never bit me, wasn't allowed. But he did make sure to leave a mark."

Remus scoffs bitterly, "Wish I was that lucky."

I knock my shoulder into his, "If you ever want to talk about anything, I'm a great listener."

"Same goes for you."

Fourteen-Fifteen years old – December 24, 1974

My eyes flicker back and forth as I watch an obviously distressed James pace the length of the room. He's narrowly avoided walking right into the Christmas tree about a dozen times as he's too busy trying to pull his hair out. He's been like this ever since he got home from Hogwarts, all skittish like an abused dog. Every few minutes he's either inspecting the fireplace or sticking his head out the window.

As he passes by me for the millionth time, I grab his arm. I yank him down toward the couch, making a sacrifice as his heavy body falls on mine. He struggles to get up, but I hold him fast. "James, what is your problem?" I run my fingers through his hair trying to calm him.

"Nothing, I'm just, uh, excited."

"Then why are you trying to make yourself bald? You keep acting like you're waiting for someone."

James breaks free of my arms, something he was always capable of, and turns to me. "Corey, I'm fine. I, uh—" He break off as a sharp tap comes from the window. Our heads snap over to the noise to see a large, gray barn owl. James tears off my lap, opens the window, nearly ripping the poor bird's leg off to get the letter from it. With an indignant flap of its wings toward James, the owl flies off but James is too busy reading the letter.

"Who's it from? Remus? Peter?" I get up off the couch, but when I get close, James quickly crushes the parchment into a ball, hiding it behind his back. He stares down at me with a too-wide smile.

"Nobody! It's from nobody. Don't worry about it Core." James breathes in, as if the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders. "I'm going to go see if I can sneak cookies away from Mum. You want to come?"

I shake my head, and as he heads for the kitchen, I fall onto the couch hurt. I know he's lying to me. Why would he want to keep a secret from me? Well, there's many reasons, I tell myself. It could've been about a surprise for me. Or a present. Or maybe it was a girl from Hogwarts and he's too embarrassed to say that he's got a girlfriend. I push all the excuses away, knowing that's all they are: excuses.

Something was obviously bothering James before he got that letter. He's hiding something from me, and I don't think it's a girlfriend. We've promised to tell each other everything. So what's made him break that promise? Before the hard ball of disappointment can settle in my stomach, James rushes out of the kitchen, hands full of cookies. "I did it, Core! Come eat the evidence with me."

A laugh bubbles up in my throat, shoving the disappointment away, and I run up the stairs behind him.

Fifteen years old – June 6, 1975

I drop my bag on the living room floor as James glares at me. I throw my arms out, smacking my legs as they come back down. "Aren't you excited to see me?"

Instead of running into my arms like I expected, James flares his nostrils and stomps off, leaving me alone with Remus and Peter. I click my tongue and move to sit beside the two boys. I have to admit, James' reaction did hurt a little bit. We haven't seen each other since Christmas because he hadn't come for Easter, and our letters to each other got fewer every week.

I wanted to come home right as school let out, but James told me he was having the guys over, so I decided to spend the week at a friend's house to let them have their time to relax. However, I guess James found out that friend was a boy.

"If it's any consolation, I missed you, Corey." Peter says giving me a sweet smile. I return it, throwing an arm around him for a hug.

"I missed you too, Peter. And of course, you too Remus."

The lanky boy raises his eyebrows, "You should go talk to him."

I groan because Remus is right, but James has no right to be angry with me. Francis is just a friend; we didn't even sleep in the same room together! "No," I say defiantly and loudly, hoping James can hear me. "He's the one being irrational. If he wants to talk—"

James storms back into the room, and I press myself into the couch at the anger seeping out of him. "I'm being irrational? You're the one who had a sleepover with a guy. Who knows what would've happened? You don't know what goes through the male brain, Corey. It's sick—"

With tears clouding my vision, I push past him and run up to my room making sure to slam the door extra hard. James has no idea what he's talking about. I would never go off with some random guy and sleep over at his house. Not unless I was one hundred percent comfortable with him. And I am with Francis.

James is just too quick to judge any guy who gets close to me. This is why I specifically asked Mum and Dad not to tell him. I flinch as I remember James yelling. I've never seen him so mad, and despite knowing he'd never hurt me it's still terrifying. "He'd never hurt me," I say but it doesn't sound as confident as I would like it to be. A sob slips out of my lips and I curl into a ball of misery.

Sure, James and I have fought before, but never to this extinct. It's always over petty things like who gets the last pancake or who was the fastest to get down the stairs. But never has he screamed at me like that. I hear a knock on my door and I muffle my crying. "Go away,"

The door opens and James is standing there. "Corey, I'm so sorry." I don't say anything. I grab my blanket and pull it over my head, as if it'll make James go away. He sits down on my bed. "Please look at me," I shake my head but I doubt he can tell. When his hand rests gently on my head, I flinch backward. I hear James breathe in deep. A second later his weight is lifted off my bed and I hear my door shut.

I close my eyes, feeling horrible by how I reacted at his touch. But it's not your fault, I tell myself. It's just a jerk reaction.

I fall asleep and wake up hours later. My legs move by themselves, taking me outside but it's useless. The sky is cloudy, dark gray lumps moving across the sky. Seems appropriate for my mood. Before I can return to bed, a body sits down beside me. I don't have to look to know it's James.

"I'm sorry." I turn to him. He's still in his clothes from earlier, hair a mess, and he's not even wearing his glasses.

"I'm sorry, too."

James shakes his head, "Don't be. I'm the jerk. I was insensitive for yelling at you earlier; it was not the right thing to do, no matter how angry I was. And I understand if you can't forgive me, but after what you've been through... I don't want you to get hurt or go through any of that again. But I guess—" I throw my arms around him.

"I love you," I tell him.

James wastes no time in hugging me back, "I love you too, Corey, no matter what I say. Now, tell me why I should like this friend of yours?"

I pull out of the hug, cracking a smile. "His name is Francis and he's nice."

James scowls, "How nice can he be if he's dating my baby sister?"

I can't help the blush that crawls over my face. "We're not dating! And I'm three months older than you."

"Plus, his name is kind of lame."

I laugh and push him, "James!"