The Great Hall was brimming with students the next morning when Ana arrived. As per usual, Lia was sitting at the Gryffindor table (despite being a Ravenclaw) and munching on a bagel. Her attention was on the Daily Prophet, rather than the Marauders who sat across the table and further to her right. Remus was staring indescreetly at her, soft eyes studying her bent over figure. James, Sirius and Peter were talking amongst themselves, though rather vividly, but Ana ignored them and took her place beside Lia.

"So, I have a question for you."

Lia stated, not once looking up from the Prophet. This concerned Ana, as Lia was usually cheery and full of energy in the morning. With a quick glance at Sirius, who was now staring at Ana with a grin on his face, Anastasiya tucked herself closer to her friend. She felt uncomfortable, as if the entire Great Hall was staring at her. At a glance around the room...they kind of were.

"What's going on?"

Ana mumbled, brushing her hair from her face, scooping the tendrils behind her ear. It was unsettling having the entire room glare at you now and again, like they were planning it in shifts. First, this half of the Slytherin table glares, then the other. Ravenclaws next. Don't forget the Hufflepuffs. Let's all glare at Anastasiya, now...Ana swallowed hard.

"Why is the entire room gawking at me?"

"Maybe..." Carnelia grunted, closing the Daily Prophet and slamming it onto the table as she turned to face her friend. Out of the corner of her eye, Ana could see all of the Marauders looking on now, "Because there is a rumour that you and Sirius Black snogged in the common room yesterday! And you didn't even tell me, you're best friend! Is it true, Anastasiya Callisto Katrienne Valentine?"

Ana's eyes widened to the size of half-dollars, she leaned closer to her friend and hissed for her to keep her voice down, considering James was now giggling like...well, a school girl. "Will you keep it down?"

"So, it's true, then! I don't believe you, Ana..."

"Don't be mad, I just...oh, I don't know. But will you please keep it down, I don't want everyone to know!"

"They already do!" Carnelia huffed, pushing herself from the table and snatching the paper between her spindled fingers, "I tell you everything, Anastasiya, and you've been more secretive than ever lately. If you don't want me to be in your personal life, then I won't be! Good day!"

The blonde stomped away angrily, leaving Anastasiya confused in her wake. She called after her friend, rising from her own spot on the bench, but quickly gave up when she realized that the half-Veela was displeased with her. She groaned a sigh and plopped her chin into the palm of her hands, resting both elbows on the table. Until the Marauders all started laughing. Her eyes snapped to one in particular.

"Annie, love. Can I have a kiss too?" James cooed, puckering his lips like a fish and imitating snogging sounds. Anastasiya flushed red with anger and clenched a fist. "I think Remus and Peter want one too. Just one kissy-wissy? Puh-lease?"

Slamming her hands down onto the table, she forced herself to a rise, slewing her bag over her shoulder. She rounded the table to where the Marauders were and stopped between Sirius and James, standing over them furiously. They all laughed, saved for Remus who looked astonished. Ana pointed at James,

"I don't ever want to hear your voice again. If I have to set you on fire a thousand times, I will. But if you ever so much as breathe in my general direction, I swear to you that it will not be lovely. And you," She turned to Sirius, whose sloppy grin never left his face, though his laughter stopped. James kept chuckling, "You disgust me. I regret ever being sorted into the same house as you, never mind sharing that kiss with you. I never want to see your smug face again."

Before she could even think to stop herself, she reached out and clapped her hand against Sirius' cheek. That whiped the smile off of his face, and immedately a red mark appeared where her hand had been seconds before. He stared at her in shock. She turned her back to them and began to walk away, all eyes in the room glued to her every movements, ears on her every word. Everyone was silent, save for James' violent laughter. Even Lily, who sat across from him and never once got along with Ana, looked grim. But before Anastasiya got too far, she turned to face Sirius once more,

"By the way," she hissed vehemently, "You're terrible at it."

Lie as it may have been, she was sinking so low as to take any jab to possibly cause as much pain as he had. To think that Sirius Black would have kept this quiet...but no, he had to tell the entire school what happened between them. Sure, it was a kiss, but with the reputation that Anastasiya had, everyone was going to keep harassing her about it. And that was the very last thing she wanted. She exited the Great Hall promptly and made for her Divination class to have words with Professor Trelawey beforehand, tears glistening in her eyes as she left.

-

The rest of the day went by as a blur - at least until the double potions she had to share with the Slytherins. The one class she had been dreading all day. Carnelia had not spoken to her, though she had heard of the ruckus in the Great Hall and shared Transfiguration with her the period before Potions. Ana had not so much has spoken that day, save for asking teachers the usual questions. McGonagall had approached her and given her detention for raising a hand, and hitting, a fellow student - which the Transfiguration master did not wish to do, for Ana was without a doubt her favourite and most talented student. It made that class even harder.

She descended to the dungeons slowly, not wishing to enter the chamber and dreading what was going to take place when she got there, but no words were said to her as she entered. Neither James nor Sirius so much as glanced at her the entire class. Severus had smirked when she first entered, though, at the mark that had been on Sirius' cheek earlier in the day. Otherwise, the class dragged by and the only words said were by other students, gossiping about what happened earlier.

The class ended rather abruptly, and Severus left early as usual. He met with Lily in the hallways, as Ana was only a few seconds behind, and the two disappeared for their usual conversation (as she could only guess). It made her heart ache a little, the reminder that her best friend was angry at her over some stupid boy. She walked with her head down, staring at the cracks in the stone as she walked. She didn't even care to see who was running up behind her, or look to see what hand had been laid over her shoulder. It was soon answered.

"It wasn't Sirius, you know."

Remus Lupin mumbled. Ana figured he had come from an intersecting corridor, considering he was not in that potions class with her. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that Sirius and James were just exiting the room. Sirius glanced at her quickly, then looked away just as fast.

"I don't care. The whole school knows and my best friend isn't talking to me. Granted, the last part is my fault, but I should have never done it in the first place. I regret it."

"Regret it as you may, you still humiliated him. You didn't need to slap him, you know..."

Ana grew furious, "Why are you telling me this, Remus? I'm not going to apologize, and I plan not to speak with him again. Maybe...maybe for a second or two yesterday I was curious to see what it was like to be the girl that Sirius Black was after, but I don't care now. I just don't."

"That tone suggests otherwise," Remus sympathized, keeping up his pace with hers, "It was James, just so you know. Because Lily told him that she saw you and Sirius snogging. He got mad at Sirius because Sirius didn't say anything to him. So he told a few people and, well...word gets around."

"They seemed awfully chummy for two people who were angry at eachother," Ana glowered, wishing Lia would lighten up, "And still. He didn't have to sit there and laugh. If he had any sort of respect for me, he would have stopped James."

"James is...an unstoppable force, Ana. He's smart, he's charming and he's Sirius' very best friend. They wouldn't stay mad at eachother if a train driven by the other hit their mums. That's just how they are. And Sirius does have respect for you. He didn't tell James, did he?"

This was true. An overwhelming feeling of regret washed over Ana, and she turned to see if Sirius was still behind her. But he was not...and only James was staring at the duo.

"I have to go to class. But feel better. And think about this? At any rate...I hope you and Lia patch things up."

Remus patted Anastasiya on the back and climbed the staircase with her, turning down the hallway to their right. Ana fumbled, "Wait! Remus? Do you like Carnelia?"

The boy only blushed slightly, chuckling and waving her off. He disappeared into a classroom shortly after that, leaving Ana alone once more. But not for very long.

With her attention back on her feet, the dark-haired girl let her mind wander for a brief moment, considering the consequences of today. What if she couldn't patch things up with Lia? Would the friendship really end over something so ridiculous? Pain panged in her chest at the thought of wandering the halls like this for the rest of the year, of not having a best mate around when they graduated from this portion of their lives. It was painfully apparent now that her cold-hearted personality was not going to benefit her in the long run of her life. Soft footsteps beside her snapped the girl from her silent reverie and she nearly leapt out of her skin when her eyes focused on whom had fallen in-step beside her.

James, with his glasses in one hand and the other wrapped around the bottom of his sweater to clean the lenses, stared at his feet with a look of slight contempt contorting his features. He cleared his throat after a long moment, turning his attention to the witch beside him after he slid the glasses onto the bridge of his nose. Ana was ready for her hand to fly to her wand, if need be, but James snorted,

"Don't try. I'll have you petrified so fast you won't be able to inhale."

As if it was a foretelling of his actions, Ana sucked in a great breath of air and never let her eyes wander for an instant away from this threat. The one person she distasted most in the school had fallen in step beside her, obviously with something on his mind. He sucked in a great breath of his own before jamming his hands deep into his pockets and beginning, "There are a few things we need to clear up."

Here we go...she thought to herself, expecting exactly what came from his mouth. Justifications of Sirius. A reminder that Anastasiya had made the most ridiculous of mistakes the night before, and because of it her friendship with Carnelia was on the rocks. A sudden flame of anger spiraled up her spine, but he controlled herself from snatching at her wand. Witnessing James at work firsthand had reminded Ana that his curses were not to be trifled with.

"I want you to just let Sirius date you. For however long. A week, usually. Until he gets bored of you."

Instantly, Ana's expression pulled into a horrified gasp as she stared with wide eyes at the prospecting boy. Had he really just suggest that she give up and date the monster? When the worst of her horrified expression passed, she let a snort tear through her throat, one of sarcasm. The anger still licked at her like the tongue of a red-hot flame.

"I'm sick of this," James continued, as if Ana had not reacted at all. He didn't even make eye contact with her. His eyes seemed to be past the end of the corridor in which he stared, as if he was looking into a hallucination, "I'm sick of how he is because of you."

"How he is?" Anastasiya interjected, clear confusing ringing through her tone like a bell. What in Merlin's beard was this kid talking about?

"...keeps on plotting on how to corner you. How to break you. I'm really sick of it. I am. I just want to cause trouble, get out of here and get on with my life. I have a standard to set for kids in the future, you know. And I can't do that when one of the Master minds is obsessing on how to court a snotty Pure-blood. As if it isn't enough that he won't stop yipping about you, we have Remus drooling over your Veela buddy."

I knew it, Ana though to herself. Remus had been slowly, silently and slyly eying Lia over the past few weeks. Perhaps he was too shy to really talk to her, but it did not go unnoticed to Ana. It was strange to think of, though. Her shoulders rolled into a neat shrug and her mind wrapped back around what James had been saying.

"I'm not dating Sirius. I don't think you understand how much I disdain him. I don't even want to breathe the same air as him. Especially now."

James snorted this time, tearing his eyes from the end of the corridor and reeling on her. Ana nearly tripped over her own feet when she jumped back, hand automatically going for her wand - but she stopped herself before James could make good on his own promise. "If you really disdained him so much, then Lily wouldn't have caught you two snogging yesterday. Or was it just a momentary lapse of sanity?"

Ana nearly growled, crossing her arms over her chest and letting the toes of her right foot tap against the stone of the corridor's floor. Her patience with this Gryffindor was wearing thin, as well as her interest in this conversation.

"Anyway, it was rude to hit him. Especially because it wasn't his fault that everyone found out. It was mine. You should go apologize to him."

"Yeah, right. And you should stick your wand in your ear. But neither of us will do that. Besides, he didn't seem to bothered by it."

"I never said he was. But it's rude to slap people. Even I know that." James reasoned, though it was apparent that his patience was growing slim as well.

"Look whose talking. You make a habit out of hanging Severus by his ankle whenever you catch him alone outside. And that isn't rude? Don't give me lessons on etiquette when you can't even follow your own advice. Thanks, but no thanks." Anastasiya muttered, shoving past James and heading down the hall. She nearly disappeared when James called out once more.

"He won't stop. He's like a Bloodhound chasing a bunny. He has your scent, and he can't have you. So he's going to chase you. Just give up and make it easy for yourself. Or you'll be more embarassed than you were today, and your little friend won't be around for sure."

With a grunt, Ana tredged up the stairs and towards the Great Hall - moreover, the big doors to the outside. Two things were on her mind: finding Lia and apologizing, for one. And the other would be much less enjoyable...trying to get her scent out of Sirius' nose. A barrage of thoughts swirled through her head as she headed down towards the Quidditch pitch in search of the dog.