Hello hello! As always, thanks to everyone who favorited/added this story to their alerts. And also, thanks to AnneDance 1711 for reviewing the last chapter.

I hope you all like this chapter! It's a pretty important one. ;)

Disclaimer (because I have been forgetting these): I do not own Harry Potter. Sad day, it is.

Chapter 4

I opened a letter from my brother at the breakfast table and smiled because… well, it was Drew, and he hated writing letters.

Dear Alyssa,

So to get straight to the point: I've met a girl. (Yes, a human one. Wipe that grin off your face.) And don't even think about telling me I'm too old for this. I'm twenty-six, not eighty.

Her name is Riley Scott. I actually met her about six months ago through some mutual friends, but only recently has it turned serious. Call me crazy, but I think I want to marry her. Want to know how I came to that conclusion? She flipped me. Literally, she grabbed my arm and next thing I knew, I was flat on my back looking at the sky. And I didn't want to crumple her into a ball of the tiny girl she used to be, I… kind of wanted to kiss her. So I did, and… You know what? I'm not going to tell you the rest. Because you're my baby sister and somehow that just seems wrong.

I suppose that's all I wanted to say. Just thought you should know now, before I bring her home for Christmas and you flip on me for not telling you sooner.

Don't do anything stupid, okay? Go study or something.

Love,

Drew.

I stared at the paper in my hands, shocked. Then I read it again. And once more for good measure. Was this a joke? It didn't seem to be, but Drew was a little unpredictable at times. When I was five, he convinced me that I wasn't really his sister, but that I had been found buried under a rock outside our house, and that I was really a troll.

And of course there was the famous time when I was seven, and he told me that I was a ghost instead of a girl, wandering the house all those years. He got me to jump out of a window, the jerk! Six bruises, three scabs, a sprained wrist, and many, many beatings later (for him), he apologized. But that didn't stop him from trying to find ways to trick me, becoming more subtle in his ways as the years passed.

"Hey, Alyssa!" My cousin Hestia plopped down in the seat in front of me, snitching a piece of toast off my plate as she did so. When I didn't answer, she frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Drew," I whispered. "Drew… Drew, he…"

Hestia visibly paled. "Oh. Oh, Merlin. What happened?"

"He… He's…"

"Spit it out, Alyssa! Did he…" Her voice dropped. "Did he die?"

"No, no, it's worse!"

She merely stared for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "Alyssa, I seriously thought something was wrong! How could anything be worse?" She viciously tore off a chunk of toast with her teeth.

"Drew's… he's in love!" I whispered in horror.

Hestia gasped, then proceeded to choke and hack on the toast. "What?!" she wheezed.

"That's what I said!" I cried.

"Is she human?!"

"I mean, he says she is but, frankly, I'm skeptical."

"I won't believe it until I see this girl," Hestia stated. I nodded.

"Maybe she'll stick around long enough to meet the family at Christmas."

Hestia shrugged, then stood. "Maybe. I'll see you later, okay?"

I waved to her as she went to her first class, then resigned myself to following her example and leaving the Great Hall now, while there was ample time to get to class without running.

I sat down at my usual table with Lily in Ancient Runes. "Lils, you won't believe what I got in the post this morning!"

But I didn't get to finish telling her my story. A group of Ravenclaws ambled into the room, laughing and generally having a good time. One of them wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, and ran right into our table. My books toppled off the corner, the pieces of parchment stuck between the pages flying out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, immediately crouching to pick up the mess. I got up too and tried to help, but he'd already gathered it all. He neatly stacked each book and paper and held them out to me. "My apologies, again. I should have been looking."

Words failed me when I realized exactly who this was. Adam Smith was undoubtedly one of the most attractive boys in the school. He had a heart stopping smile and eyes that you could melt into… so I'd been told. Psssh. Who actually believed that crap? Not me.

I picked my jaw up off the floor and gave him what I hoped was an easy smile. "Don't worry about it."

"It's Alyssa, right?" he asked.

He knows my name! one part of my mind screeched.

Pull yourself together! the other shouted.

I nodded.

He extended a hand for me to shake. "I'm Adam."

I know, said the calm voice said.

We're practically holding hands! the excited one squealed.

I mentally slapped myself, but didn't let the internal struggle show. "Nice to meet you, Adam."

He nodded and flashed his heart stopping smile. "See you around."

I sat back down and took what felt like my first full breath in years.

"So…" Lily began.

"Merlin," I whispered.

"You're doomed."

o0o0o0o

Gryffindor's first Quidditch match of the year was against Ravenclaw. The morning of the game, Potter could be seen talking to each person on his team, giving last minute pointers and reminders. For all his confident talk the previous week about how they were going to beat Ravenclaw into the ground, he had a hard time disguising the quiver of nervousness in his voice.

Lily and I took seats next to Remus in the stands. Peter was on his other side, bundled up to his nose, which was red from the fierce autumn wind.

Remus smiled warmly. "I wasn't sure if you two would show up."

I scoffed. "Oh, please. I may not like those two dolts you call your friends, but my Gryffindor pride runs deep."

He started to say something, but then his eyes drifted to a point over my shoulder. His shock was poorly masked as he said, "Brooke!"

Sure enough, there she was, hands deep in her coat pockets. She gave us a shy smile and ducked her head. "Hi. Um… do any of you mind if I sit with you?"

Before anyone else could formulate a response, Remus was already answering. "Of course not! Scoot over, Peter."

I moved down a little bit to give her more room, sharing a look with Lily. We'd always thought that Brooke and Remus would be cute together, and now it seemed like they were beginning to bond. Excellent.

The two teams strode out onto the pitch, two lines facing each other with Madam Hooch in between. I immediately sought out Adam, who was the Ravenclaw Keeper. For a brief moment I thought that I would like for his team to win, but that thought was quickly followed by the shame of betrayal.

What am I thinking? I chided myself. No, Alyssa, never start pulling for the other team! Maybe my Gryffindor pride isn't as deep as I thought…

Stop worrying about it, the opposing voice in my head ordered. It's just Quidditch; who cares if you think Ravenclaw ought to win? Even if it is only because their Keeper finally gave you the time of day.

I guess you're right.

Lily's laughter brought me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked.

"What were you thinking about just now? You looked like you were arguing with yourself."

"Well, you know those voices in my head," I answered drily.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Right."

I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm insane." I was only half-joking.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the two teams took to the air.

"Do you think we'll win? Ravenclaws are pretty smart in their plays," Brooke said. It took me a moment to realize that this had to have been the first time she'd been to a Quidditch game that wasn't the legendary Gryffindor-Slytherin match, the one game nobody would even think about missing.

"'Course we will," I answered. "We've got smart players, too. I'm sure they know every tactic Ravenclaw's got."

I should have kept my big mouth shut.

Hardly a second after the words were out of my mouth, everything went downhill for Gryffindor.

The Ravenclaw Chasers were making jerky moves, trying to confuse the Gryffindor Chasers. Potter passed the Quaffle to his girl Chaser, but at the last second she pulled up hard on her broomstick, as a Ravenclaw had flown mere feet in front of her. The Quaffle slipped through her reaching fingers, and a second Ravenclaw was flying below her just in time to catch it. The third was waiting a bit in front of them, ready to receive the pass and get as far away as possible. A collective groan rippled through the Gryffindor side of the stands.

Ravenclaw's tactics were usually clear-cut, graceful and precise. Subtle, at times, but efficient. However, this time they were creating organized mass chaos. It was the kind of thing you would expect from Slytherin, but the Ravenclaws were more rule-abiding.

In a move that couldn't possibly have been planned, the Ravenclaw Beater struck a Bludger that went hurtling towards the Gryffindor Keeper just in time for him to dodge and leave the hoops open. Ravenclaw scored almost effortlessly.

My jaw hung slack. Beside me, I wasn't sure if Lily was breathing. Stunned silence rang in the seats behind and in front of me.

"Brooke, I might have to take back what I said," I whispered.

"They'll pull through," Remus said confidently. "It was one bad play; James won't let that ruin them for the rest of the game. It'll be fine."

It wasn't fine.

Ravenclaw's game plan kept changing. Sometimes it was a normal clear-cut game. Other times, it was chaotic. And other times still, it was too easy for the Gryffindors, only for Ravenclaw to stop them at the last second to keep their seventy-point lead.

Not only that, but the Ravenclaw Seeker kept diving for a Snitch that wasn't there. Naturally, Gryffindor's Seeker followed, only to pull up upon realizing that she had been tricked again. Eventually, she stopped trying to follow the other Seeker's moves, but kept her eyes trained in the other's direction. So when the Snitch finally presented itself, she wasn't prepared for the Ravenclaw to be so subtle about catching it.

The game was over before anyone fully realized it. It took Madam Hooch blowing her whistle and the Ravenclaw team taking a victory lap for anyone to notice the Snitch clutched triumphantly in the Seeker's fist. It finally hit home and defeat settled in with one big whoosh. Every Gryffindor visibly deflated.

Our team slowly descended to the ground and stood there for a moment. The stands were strangely quiet on our side. Eventually, people trickled out and went back to the castle, though the team stood huddled together on the pitch. They didn't seem to be saying anything.

"That… couldn't have gone any worse," Remus muttered.

"I don't think we've ever lost so badly," Lily commented, shaking her head.

After a few minutes of simply standing there, the Gryffindor team retreated to the locker rooms, as silent as ever. We finally stood and made our way back to the castle, where the news of Gryffindor's defeat was already spreading like a disease.

o0o0o0o

It was a lazy Saturday, and with it being too cold to go outside and too crowded in the common room, Lily, Brooke, and I stayed in our room.

I was quite pleased with the progress we had made with Brooke. It was now becoming easier and easier to talk to her, and she often initiated conversations without being prompted. Sometimes, like she had today, she sat down with us in the library or at mealtimes without too much hesitation, though she always asked first. But I thought she would soon stop the habit of asking and learn that she was always welcome.

For a long time I talked with Brooke about her latest read– a romance novel by a Muggle author named Jane Austen. She spent a long time telling me about the society of the nineteenth century, and enthusiastically told me I could borrow the book when she finished. All in all, I was confident that we were slowly forming a steady friendship.

"Hey, Brooke?" Lily said when a lull in conversation presented itself.

"Yes?"

"What's been going on with the Marauders?" She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, looking contemplative. "I've noticed recently that they seem more… tame."

I frowned, then thought back on the last month or so. Lily was right, I realized. They were pulling less pranks. The ones they did pull weren't exclusive to Slytherin, as most had in the past. They encompassed all the houses, and weren't so much rude and embarrassing as funny in spite of oneself.

Not only that, but the amount of random hexing in the hallways at the expense of younger students– particularly Slytherins, again, and above all, Snape– had almost completely ceased to exist. (I repeat, almost.)

I'd seen the Marauders laughing with each other in the corridors, and previously I'd assumed that they were scheming or were carrying out a scheme, but now I realized that they were simply being… boys. Just boys laughing over a joke or a silly passing comment. It was so unlike the boys I and the rest of the school population had come to recognize, I wondered for a moment if they had all hit their heads a little too hard in a prank gone wrong.

Brooke shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I might have talked a little bit of sense into them."

I stared at her, unbelieving of the proposition. "No… No, that's not possible."

"It's not?"

"No, it's not!" I waved my arm in no particular direction. "They're not sensible, they're… rash and rude and spontaneous and they do whatever they want when the urge hits them and…" I trailed off, realizing that all those things I said were made in denial. They were changing. And shamefully, I noted that I wanted to hold on to those bitter feelings toward them… Or one of them in particular.

Brooke hesitated. "Why do you hate them so much?" she asked, looking back and forth between me and Lily.

I kept silent, and after a moment, Lily answered. "I don't hate them. Remus and Peter are actually really sweet, but I wish they wouldn't follow in Potter and Black's footsteps. And those two… They are supremely annoying, but not terrible people, I'll give you that." She picked at a loose thread on her duvet. "Sometimes it's more habit than actual dislike, you know?"

Brooke nodded, then looked at me. "Alyssa?"

I sighed. "Outside of what Lily just said, it's a bit of a bigger issue with me. And really, that issue is only with Black, but I guess it just spread to the other Marauders too.

"Do you remember how, in first year, I didn't speak very much English?" Brooke nodded. "Well, that's pretty much how it all started. I'd only just moved here from Germany and was still working on conquering the language barrier. I spoke enough to get by, like in classes, but outside of class I was pretty quiet."

I took a deep breath, preparing for the harder part of the story. "So one day I was in the library, looking for some material to help with an essay. And Black walked up behind me and asked me to hand him a book I was standing in front of. But he startled me, and it took my mind a little bit longer than it normally should have to catch up.

"He looked at me like I was stupid and said, 'Are you deaf or just slow?'" I forced out the words that I would remember until the day I died. Brooke sucked in a breath through her teeth. Lily gave a derisive laugh. "And of course, he didn't know that I couldn't speak English. It wasn't exactly advertised and I can't remember a time before that when we actually spoke. So I eventually got over it, but… first impressions are lasting, you know?" I shrugged. "That's what initially fuelled all the negativity towards him. But it sort of grew over time. Every little thing he did bothered me. If he ever spoke to me, I would get defensive and rude. I wanted him to hurt like the way he hurt me. It gradually got to the point where we only insulted each other. It kind of became a game, but he never got angry; he just laughed it off. I almost wanted him to yell at me and call me names, just so I could throw it right back at him. But he never did. And it was infuriating. Still is, too."

I laughed humorlessly. "Anyway, that's the story of how I came to 'hate-slash-resent' Sirius Black."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Brooke said, looking at me with eyes that said they weren't empty words, but actual heartfelt understanding.

I brushed it off. "It's okay. I'm over it. But like I said before, it's not easy to get over those harsh first words."

Brooke smiled at me and Lily. "I think you two would like them if you got to know them. They're immature sometimes, yes, and they don't always think things through, but they're brave. And smart, and selfless– in spite of what you may think– and they've got their hearts in the right place. Maybe… maybe you could give them a chance?"

I shared a pained look with Lily. She made a face. "I wouldn't mind trying," she finally decided. "But I make no promises."

"Same here," I said. "And I'm not saying it will be immediate, either. I think I need a little time to sort out and get rid of old grudges. And in that time they need to prove themselves to be better people than they act like."

Brooke grinned widely. I thought it made her look absolutely gorgeous, making her brown eyes light up, and made it my mission to get her to do that more often. "That's all I ask," she said.

With the heavy conversation over, we suddenly realized how late it was and how hungry we were. I told Lily and Brooke to go to dinner without me and that I would catch up with them in a few minutes. I had to write a reply to Drew and tease him mercilessly about falling victim to the dreaded love disease.

It was quiet when I emerged from the dormitory, almost everyone having gone to dinner. There was only one person in the common room, and that was Black.

And he was talking to… the floor?

"James, come on," he was saying, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

I rolled my eyes and laughed under my breath as I strode toward the portrait hole. "Black, if you want to stay at this school, I suggest you make your insanity less blatantly obvious."

Then I tripped over something large and very solid when I knew for a fact that the floor was clear. A loud and quite embarrassing "Eeeeep!" escaped my lips before the floor rushed up to meet my body.

I groaned, pain radiating all over. For a moment, I expected Black to burst into laughter at my misfortune, but he only sighed.

"That actually kind of hurt," came a muffled voice. James Potter's voice.

No. Way.

"What in the hell–" I started.

I looked back at the piece of carpet I had tripped over. Surely I hadn't just fallen over my own two feet, right? Surely I hadn't just not seen Potter's body lying out in the middle of the floor, right?

But there was nothing there. Nothing at all.

"James, come out here before you hurt somebody important!" Black said somewhat angrily.

"Is Lily out there?" said Potter's disembodied voice.

"No. Just Jones."

"…I'm leaving before she gets here, then."

Slowly, the last several moments of the conversation caught up in my head. Somebody important? Just Jones? Oh, he knew what he was doing. He was trying to piss me off. Frankly, it worked. But that he had the audacity to flippantly do it while handling another matter–

"Black, you arrogant bastard!" I nearly yelled.

"Shut up, Jones," he shot back without glancing my way.

Okay. Whatever I previously said about giving him a chance was now void. It only took half an hour, but Black managed to squash every reason I had for giving him time to prove himself into nothingness.

But that train of thought could wait until a later time. I focused instead on the matter at hand. And that was–

"Why can't I see Potter?" I blurted. "I swear, Black, if this is another one of your stupid pranks…"

Black gave me a look that made me feel three inches tall. It was the look teachers gave him and Potter all the time, and being on the receiving end was hell, let me tell you.

"Yes," he said slowly, like I was a small child. "That's exactly what this is, Jones. Now run along before you become collateral damage."

I bristled, but bit my tongue. "Uh huh. Potter, what's going on?!"

A thud and a muttered curse coming from the direction of the boys' staircase was my answer, followed by the distinct sound of heavy feet going upstairs.

I gaped. "Black… is Potter… is he invisible?"

"And I'm staying this way!" Potter's voice shouted.

"Oh my Merlin, he's invisible," I mumbled.

Black grunted in reply, then glared at me. "Now look what you've done."

He started to follow his partner in crime, and I could only stare after him in shock. Me?!

"But– how did he do that?!" I shouted before he turned the corner of the staircase.

Black scowled and looked at me again. "Are you stupid, Jones?" My heart fell to my feet. "Use that damn brain of yours and figure it out! God knows you think you're smarter than everyone else anyway, shouldn't be too hard."

He had gotten me countless times over the years with those careless insults he threw around and I had thought I'd built enough walls to keep him out. But I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes and knew that for the second time– though not the last– Sirius Black had broken a piece of my heart.

Ahh, yes. I did rather enjoy writing this chapter. What did you guys think? Let me know in a review!

A note about the last scene with James being invisible: the concept was a short text post and a doodle I found on tumblr/pinterest/instagram. Not quite sure which. I simply fluffed it up and adapted it to my story, so credit for the overarching concept goes to that person, whose name unfortunately escapes me.

Again, please review! See you next week!

~AMQ