Remus shot James a look of disapproval whereas Peter looked up at him with admiration and gratefulness. Only Sirius had noticed the flash of hurt in his best friend's eyes. He watched James try to act it was like no big deal. He noticed how James' hand quivered as he let down Snape and how hollow his laugh sounded. As the crowd dispersed Sirius put his hand on James's shoulder and received a small smile in return. A smile so distraught that he wished smiles didn't exist.
Sirius had never really understood the dynamic of James' relationship with Evans. In the beginning, he'd thought James enjoyed getting her riled up because she was Snape's best friend. Soon, he'd realized it was much more than that: His best friend was infatuated with the red head. He saw how nervous he got around her; how he always looked out to see if she was watching him perform his antics; how he went out of his way to make her smile when she was down.
Hogwarts had only seen one version of James and Evans – the one that involved yelling, name calling and lots of sexual tension. He'd seen a lot more. He'd watched James comfort her after she ran out of the great hall crying over a letter she'd once received. He'd seen them laughing and playfully nudging each other in the common room late at night. He'd seen her holding his hands looking more worried than any kid their age should look when James was in the hospital, unconscious.
He remembered how nervous and excited James had looked after the last quidditch match. When he'd asked him if he was alright, James had confided in him about planning to ask Evan's out that night when they were alone. He didn't know much about what had happened that night but James came back to his dormitory looking distressed, defeated and angry at the same time. When Sirius had looked up at him inquiringly, he'd received a croaked "Snivellus. She can't do that to him".
James' next attempt at asking Evans out had been bigger and bolder. He supposed that James assumed she'd say yes if it was in front of a crowd to save him from humiliation. However, she'd laughed it off and said she wouldn't go out with him even if hell froze over.
Today, had been the third time James had asked her out. And, this time he'd resorted to blackmail. It was a fast "Go out with me Evans and I'll never lay a wand on snivellus again".
Sirius saw why Evan's choice of words had affected his best mate so much. Maybe, James hexed a few people now and then. But, people usually laughed along for hexes are harmless. Snape, however, used curses. Curses like the one that had cut James' face today. Dark magic was something James had always frowned upon. And, to be told he was as bad as Snape who not only excelled at black magic but also used the unforgivable word on every muggle-born by the girl he fancied couldn't have been encouraging. To top it off, she'd also claimed that he hexed people for no reason. Sirius had wanted to yell at her for that. She didn't know what Snape and his cronies had done to Pete yesterday. She didn't know that James was just using the smallest of spells amongst those Snape had used against Pete. James always had his reasons. True, he tended to ruffle his hair and show off around her, but so would any other boy their age around a girl they crushed on. Sirius felt a sudden swell of hatred for Evans. He knew it wasn't healthy but no one gets to hurt his best friend like that. No one.
A familiar voice cut into his thoughts. "Mate, let it go. You're more riled up than I am". Sirius grinned up at James as they both walked into the common room listening to Moony and Pete argue about who'd won the last game of exploding snap.