Disclaimer: The wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter does not belong to me.


It took Holly a lot longer to get back up to the castle than it had to get down to the grounds - her attempt at casting a Patronus had drained her more than she'd expected. Still, she was pleased with her initial result, and she couldn't wait to give it another go in class with Professor Astrid.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty Entrance Hall when she got back inside; most of the students were attending the Halloween feast. Even as she stood there deciding where to go that wasn't that Great Hall, her mind returned to her sister's letter and what it could possibly mean. She sighed angrily, hating that it was still making her feel this way. She briefly debated heading to the library as a distraction, but she'd have to go all the way up to Ravenclaw tower to get her books then come back down, and she was already quite tired. Maybe just going up to the common room was the plan. Aggravated now, and worn out, she started to climb the staircase, taking off her scarf and wrapping it up into a bundle as she did so.

Halfway up the stairs, her stomach grumbled loudly, and someone behind her laughed. She recognised the sound, and turned to see Remus climbing the stairs, with Sirius and Peter a little way behind him. James was trailing - she could see him in the doorway of the Great Hall chatting to Lily, periodically running a hand through his hair. Lily was clearly trying to put up a dismissive front, but her eyes never left James's face. Holly rolled her eyes and shook her head briefly.

Remus had reached her by then, and gave her a tired smile. "Didn't see you at the feast," he said by way of greeting. "Sounds like you should have eaten something."

Holly shrugged in a very Italian way. "I wasn't in the mood for celebrating anything. I got...I went down to the lake instead." Her stomach growled again, and she blushed. With a knowing smile, Remus pulled a small bar of chocolate out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You know, Sirius told me you always have some chocolate with you, and I didn't believe him," she said, tucking the bar away inside her robes.

"It has a variety of uses," he said. He sounded exhausted, as if climbing the stairs had taken most of his energy, and when Holly took a closer look at him she could see dark shadows under his eyes. Despite the big meal he'd had at the feast, his face had a decidedly gaunt look, and she felt a stab of sympathy for him. Whatever mystery illness that he'd caught had really taken it out of him. Seconds later, she realised she was staring, and she quickly looked away. He chuckled. "So where are you off to?" he asked, steering the conversation towards a safer topic as it was fairly obvious they were both holding something back.

"I'm just going up to the common room," Holly replied, and she continued climbing. Remus accompanied her more slowly, his long legs taking two steps for every one of hers. "I want to have a relaxing night - I tried out a Patronus charm just now and honestly, it's really taken it out of me."

"Really?" Remus's eyebrows lifted in interest. "How did it go? Did you get any result at all?"

"I made a...cloud? It wasn't anything recognisable, but I held it there for about ten seconds."

"That's impressive," Remus said admiringly. He gave her another one of his small smiles, and she returned it. She really did like Remus - he was nice, kind, and reasonably sensible compared to his more over-the-top friends.

Out of nowhere, Sirius suddenly made an appearance by leaping up the last two steps behind Remus and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. James had followed, managing to tear himself away from Lily at last, and Peter popped up too, in his own surprisingly quiet way.

"Alright, Holly?" Sirius asked exuberantly, detaching himself from his long-suffering friend and leaning against the banister instead. "What are you two going on about?"

"Holly was just telling me how she tried to cast a Patronus," Remus said, brushing himself down. "She did really well for a first try."

"Of course she did, she's a Ravenclaw. All that blonde hair is just a clever disguise." Sirius winked at her.

Holly rolled her eyes at him and flicked her hair. "Thank you so much." Having reached the top of the stairs, she turned to head off up Ravenclaw Tower. Several other students had come out of the Great Hall now, and were making their way up towards their little group. She spotted Allison and Elena walking together, and thought she might join them. She stifled a yawn and gave the boys a wan smile. "I'll see you all tomorrow sometime. Buona notte."

"Wait," Sirius said loudly, then coughed and cleared his throat. "Uh, hang on. You shouldn't...well, look. We were going down to the Quidditch pitch for a bit. James needs to practise, so I said I'd help, and we've been stuck inside all day. Do you want to come?" He trailed off towards the end of the speech, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed.

There was a moment of silence between them - Holly had no idea what to say. She really was tired, but she did quite enjoy watching Quidditch. After the up-and-down evening she'd had, it might be nice to just have a bit of fun, and Sirius obviously wanted her there. "Um...do I need to bring anything?"

"Not unless you have a broom and you want to give me a hand," James said amiably.

Holly immediately shook her head. "Oh, no. I don't like to fly. But I'll watch, and cheer for you, if you're any good."

He looked shocked, then grinned. "I'm brilliant."

"Peter and I'll just be watching too, so we can wait here while these two get their brooms," Remus offered. "Don't take too long lads, and grab my scarf, would you?"


On the walk down to the Quidditch pitch, as she carefully picked her way down the steps by the light of the lamps, Holly was deep in thought. Her brow was furrowed like it always was when she was trying to figure something out that was eluding her; only this time, instead of an academic problem, it was Sirius.

Why did he invite me? She could see him up ahead, walking side-by-side with James, the two of them almost identical from the back. They both had that messy black hair, the swagger, the long legs and loping gait. They even carried their broomsticks over the same shoulder. It was no wonder she'd first thought they were brothers. She found herself focusing more on Sirius's legs than anything else, and mentally gave herself a shake. Basta, she thought. You're imagining things. You're friends, and he was just being nice. This was the most likely explanation; every time they'd interacted outside of classes - which granted hadn't been that often, but it was a busy year for all of them - he had always been able to guess her mood, like a pet that cuddles up with you because it can tell you're sad. She'd been tired and emotionally drained, and he had invited her down to the pitch to cheer her up.

"You're being very quiet," Remus commented suddenly, breaking into her thoughts.

She looked up, and shrugged. "I was thinking."

"You were staring." His sidelong glance was equal parts amused and accusatory, and he nodded in the direction of James and Sirius up ahead.

Holly sighed. "I was just thinking," she said again, "about why Sirius invited me down here with you boys. Then I realised I was reading too far into it and I should let it go."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Isn't it obvious? He likes you."

"Well, yes. I like him too. We're friends."

"No, he really likes you. You're the only girl in our year he doesn't flirt with," Peter chimed in, having caught up and fallen into step with them.

Holly stared down at him with one eyebrow arched. "He flirts with me. He winks at me all the time."

The boys both burst out laughing. "If that's how you think Sirius Black flirts, you've been severely underestimating him," Remus said with a grin. "He flirts with everyone; he smacked me on the arse and asked me out to dinner the first time he saw me wearing dress robes. It's basically how he communicates. But not with you."

They had arrived at the pitch by then, and the three of them walked up into the stands while James and Sirius got ready on the pitch. Sirius picked up the Muggle football they'd brought down with them, mounted his broom and kicked off the ground, hovering about ten feet above James's head. "Come on then, Potter!" he called out. "Show me why you're the captain!"

James laughed, mounted his own broom, and they were off. Holly could hardly take her eyes off the two graceful figures darting across the sky, weaving this way and that, almost colliding then arcing away from each other at the last second. It was a clear night, and while it had already gone dark a few hours ago, the pitch was illuminated by the golden glow of the magical lamps that hung at regular intervals all the way around, so Holly had a perfect view of the practise. James was a Chaser, she knew from Callista, and Sirius had been tasked with keeping the football away from him for as long as possible. They were both excellent flyers, and Sirius wasn't making it easy, so when the first battle between them was finally won and James did a victory lap of the pitch with the football held aloft, she cheered loudly along with the others. They tried again a few more times, until the wind picked up and they couldn't throw the ball between them without it veering wildly off course. Even bundled up in her scarf and cloak, Holly could still feel the chill of the October night, and she was grateful when the boys called it a day and came back down to earth.

While James, Remus and Peter went on ahead, she lingered behind, waiting for Sirius to come off the pitch. He looked surprised to see her standing on the edge of the grass, her wand lit with Lumos so her windswept blonde hair shone in the darkness. "Are you okay? Did you have a good time?" he asked as he approached, pushing his hair back off his flushed pink face.

Holly nodded. "I did; I wanted to thank you. It was just what I needed."

Sirius beamed at her. "Glad to hear it. You looked like you could do with cheering up. Want to tell me what happened?" He swung his broomstick up over his shoulder again and they began walking, Holly's wand lighting the way along with the lampposts.

"Well, the Patronus wore me out," Holly began, then paused when she caught Sirius's you're-avoiding-the-question look. She sighed. "I received a letter from my sister. She wants to come and see me next month because we have 'a few things we need to discuss'."

"This is the sister that was such a bitch to you at the start of the year?" Sirius asked, his grey eyes suddenly stormy.

She nodded ruefully. "I mean, I know she's my only family now, but I hate spending time with her. All she does is criticise me. I'm only at Hogwarts because she got a job at the Ministry, and if I'd stayed at L'Accademia I would have been too far away for her to have control over me. God knows what she wants now." They'd reached the top of the steps now, sheltered by an archway, and Holly stopped walking and turned away from him. She felt like she might start crying, even though she was more angry than sad. All the good feelings that had come from watching the boys play Quidditch had quickly evaporated.

"Hey, what did I do?" Sirius reached out and gently turned Holly back around so he could see her face. "Did I say something wrong? You were happy again a minute ago."

"I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes fiercely, cursing herself in Italian. "I just hate how she makes me feel. She's always judged me for everything and I thought that I could start living my own life without her now, but she's still there, in the background, watching. No matter what I do, I cannot forget that! I try to distract myself with a nice walk, practising spells, Quidditch, time with friends...no matter what I do I cannot forget. She is hundreds of miles away, but one letter from her and she is in my head again. I hate it!"

She suddenly slammed her hand against the archway in frustration; Sirius immediately grabbed it with his own. She looked up at him, and saw the concern on his face, and suddenly she didn't care. She didn't care if he'd only invited her to the pitch so he could cheer her up, or if he actually fancied her, or if he was just happy to be friends. She stepped forwards, and instinctively he dropped his broomstick and opened his arms, pulling her carefully against him. They stood like that for a while, their arms wrapped around each other. "I'm sorry," Holly said again. "I shouldn't...it's nothing to do with you. You don't need this." She tried to pull away from the hug, but Sirius held on.

"Don't apologise, Hols; you're my friend. You tell me as much or as little as you like, and I'll listen." She was leaning against his chest; he was lovely and warm, and she could hear his heartbeat and his low voice rumbling as he spoke. "I'm no stranger to family shit anyway."

"Which is exactly why you don't need to hear about mine as well," Holly mumbled apologetically.

"No, that's exactly why I do." Sirius lifted one hand up and started stroking her hair, almost as if he didn't realise he was doing it. "I know how hard it is. You don't ever need to bottle things up around me because you think I've got enough to worry about on my own. I'll be the judge of that, thanks."

Holly had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry, I - "

"Stop apologising!" Sirius cried exasperatedly, and he laughed. "It's not a problem for me. Look, I know we haven't spent that much time together really, but I like you, and if you just need someone to moan at without any judgement then I'm your man. Who knows - maybe I could help you with some of it. Stop bottling it all up because you're worried what your new friends will think of you if you tell them stuff. I used to do the same thing, and let me tell you, it won't help."

"How do you do that?" She was staring up at him now, their proximity emphasising their height difference even if it was only a couple of inches, so close that she could see the stubble along his jaw and the silver earring peeking out from within his hair. For a second, she wondered if she might kiss him, and what it might be like, but then dismissed the idea. She wasn't thinking straight. "You already know me so well, and you always know what to say. I don't understand you sometimes."

"I have very good instincts." He let his arms drop and bent down to pick up his broom; she felt strangely bereft without their comforting presence. That is, until he took her hand. "Come on, you. It's late, and you need to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."