Everyone had seen it coming, but they all had turned away their heads from the matter, hoping that their predictions would be false. However, when it came to Sirius and his dubious antics in relationships any prediction concerning a break up was bound to become a reality.
Granted, he did have the delicacy to not pick up any flings for weeks until he was sure that Mary had somewhat gotten over their break up, but that didn't change the fact that his relationship with all of the girls had considerably worsened ever since.
Marlene was beyond outraged when she found Mary crying in the dorms. Apparently, Sirius's reasoning had been that he was incapable of having a romantic relationship of any sort and a continuation of their liaison would, according to him, get them nowhere.
Needless to say, Marlene literally tried to rip him to pieces when she spotted him near at Black Lake. In the end, Phia had to step in and conjured up ropes to bind the enraged brunette down. One should not mess with an angry Marlene McKinnon unless they had a death wish…or were Phia Pietzsch.
Though Marlene easily forgave Phia for intervening, she did not do Sirius the same favor.
It was inevitable that the bonding between the Marauders and the girls had come to a temporary halt, very much to the distaste of a certain Black who had taken a liking of Phia, despite the frequent arguments that followed her turning Sirius's hair blue. He had somehow managed to be assigned as her permanent partner in Potions after Slughorn had taken notice of the tension and awkwardness between Sirius and Mary. Both being brilliant minds and talented beyond measure, Phia and Sirius became the ultimate duo, though constantly bickering, they brewed every potion to utter perfection, exasperating Lily and Snape by doing so. They complemented each other tremendously; Phia possessed the correctness and eye for detail that Sirius lacked, while his resolute character canceled out her constant pondering over things which had previously slowed her down while brewing potions. He also came to appreciate her impartiality when it came to him and Mary, though he knew she didn't approve of his actions.
Sirius learned various things about Phia; she was an incurable collector of all kinds of things, even if it was just her own sketches, which by the way were brilliant or irrelevant things like oddly shaped stones and pebbles. She always carried around various notebooks, some she wouldn't show to him, others were for her assignments from the Ministry. He also found out that even Phia had her un-Ravenclaw-like moments when she discarded school and those were in no other subject than History of Magic. She revealed that she used to take naps throughout Professor Binns's utterly boring lectures, but had now taken on the habit of solving the tasks sent by the Auror Department during those lessons since she rarely ever found the time to do them after classes anymore. (All thanks to Lily who regularly kicked her out of the library before midnight.)
Sirius found himself enjoying Phia's company more than he would've considered possible.
This did not go unnoticed by any of their friends, but none raised objections after Mary had declared that she would not try to spoil this newly found friendship despite her bitterness towards Sirius.

Mary got over Sirius faster than anybody would have expected, since most were aware of the admiration she had harbored for him since years. And though her next boyfriend, Amos Diggory, was no friend in the books of the Marauders after his encounter with James in the past summer due to his attempted pursuit of a certain redhead, they surprisingly let him live on unscratched by any pranks. And that was a feat in itself – the Marauders refusing to prank someone? Just a year ago anybody would've assumed that to be impossible. And while none of them ever dropped their inclination for mischief, it seemed as though they were very slowly, but surely maturing.
This raised the curiosity of Lily; James had increasingly started to take his tasks as Head Boy a little more seriously and by the end of October they were capable of having a conversation without being at each other's throats immediately.
Sirius and Phia were by then the talk of the whole school because of their undeniable increasing closeness (though neither one of them would willingly admit that at first).
They replaced James and Lily with their bickering and Sirius was regularly outwitted by the Ravenclaw which in return stunned most of the spectators of their frequent quarrels.

One would have called these days the happy ones, the ones without worry and no obstacles other than exams, due papers and, in some people's cases, the full moon. And if one excluded the repeated reports of missing people and deaths, those days truly were blessed. Under the consoling protection of Professor Dumbledore scarcely any harm reached the students of Hogwarts. Aspiring Death Eaters didn't dare to show their true faces as long as the headmaster reigned and thus the houses coexisted as peacefully as they possibly could with their differences.
Only a handful of students knew what was to come once they left the school boundaries forever and even less were convinced they were ready to face the danger that lingered beyond the safety of Hogwarts and their homes.
One student in particular was haunted by an untypical frightfulness.
Phia found it harder to catch even the smallest wink of sleep as the year progressed, constantly on edge for owls from her family. She was watching out for any sign that Death Eaters were closing in on them. She had plotted out various strategies on how and where to hide them, ready to strike as soon as the slightest hint of foreign magic approached her parents or her brother.
On top of that, the difficulty of her assignments from the Auror Office steadily increased, sometimes consuming weeks. The assignments now demanded far more knowledge than she ever had needed to use before. She knew she was already skipping a year's worth of theoretical Auror training and the thought of what was to follow shook her, but something told her it was her duty to do these things.
Her friends, of course, caught on to her altered behavior throughout the passing months; Hestia, Lily and later on even James and Sirius cornered her about it, but it seemed impossible to get any clear statement from her. She would dismiss it as tiredness, but none of them were fooled by her excuses. There was more to her restlessness, they knew that much.
Hestia had already suspected that there was more to the girl than she let on since she witnessed Phia using magic outside school without setting off the trace.
The marauders realized that other than her habit to levitate everything and anything at her will she also frequently installed a strong shielding charm around herself, and occasionally also around her friends, especially if they went out for Hogsmeade trips (legally and illegally).
The girls who hung around her more frequently noted her increasing tension and a drastic weight loss which left the young Ravenclaw looking gaunt and lifeless.
Something was happening inside Phia's head, something that was potentially self-destructive.

Slowly, feelings of apprehension built up, all the way through the wet November and the beginning of December until the last day before Christmas holiday had arrived.
Knowing that a proper conversation was impossible during the ride on the Hogwarts Express, Sirius searched for an opportunity to finally tackle her. After a long and heated discussion among the four of them – Hestia, Lily, Sirius and the ever so brotherly James – they decided that Sirius was the one who could possibly get her to spill, considering his nearly infallible charm ( even though his charm never seemed to work on Phia as it worked on others). He was shocked to hear that Phia rarely confided to the girls despite their obvious closeness. Apparently, her wish to not burden her friends was greater than her need to talk to somebody.
Upon realizing in the morning that she wouldn't join them for breakfast or lunch in order to catch up with her work in the library, Sirius decided to wait outside until she showed up. He knew that she habitually left around two in the afternoon to briefly go to her dorm in the Ravenclaw tower.
And, as predicted, as the clock struck two a dishevelled and stressed out Phia hurried out of the library and ran right into Sirius.
'Careful, little one. I know you have a fondness for bumping into my gorgeous self, not that I mind, but a little more caution wouldn't hurt, you know.', he said laughing, following his habit of ruffling her tousled dark mane.
'Shut your trap, Sirius.', Phia growled and swatted his hand away. He merely smirked and shoved both his hands into his pockets. 'Why are you here?'
'Well, I haven't seen much of you these days, so I thought it would be very much appropriate to pick you up and take you out for a walk.', Sirius replied casually.
'Sirius, you know I have stuff to do-'
'I know and I don't really give a damn. Merlin knows you need to get out of this bloody library. You could challenge any ghost residing in this castle with your paleness!'
He somewhat gruffly took her by the wrist and pulled her long, and miraculously enough Phia followed along without further complaints, which, however, to Sirius was a sign that her exhaustion had taken on greater measures than he had assumed. He slowed down as they got closer to the gate, his grip on her softening.
'Do we really have to go outside? It's freaking cold.', she muttered in distress.

Sirius looked at her worriedly. The bags under her eyes had darkened and deepened, her lips were pale, her hair slightly unkempt. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days. He sighed under his breath and as they reached the gate he gently shoved her outside the castle.
Phia hissed as the cold air cut into her skin and squinted her eyes at the bright snow. She clearly hadn't been outside for a while.
'You know, you wouldn't feel this cold and weak if you were sleeping properly.', Sirius remarked, trying to sound nonchalant as he lead them towards the trees by the lake.
Phia eyed him with apparent anger. 'So this is what you're all about? Another lecture?'
She halted, ready to turn on her heels and return to the castle. Sirius caught her hand and dragged her forward.
'I'm not Lily, okay? I won't lecture you, I'm just trying to talk to you! Can't you see that we're worried?', Sirius grunted, his own temper flaring.
Not too long ago it seemed as though Phia was opening up to everyone, sharing their jokes and mischievousness, charming people with her wit. Then, suddenly, she had begun to retreat, shortly after she started showing first symptoms of exhaustion and sickness. She from the on distanced herself from her friends, only meeting them if it was absolutely inevitable.
'I've told you time and time and again that there is no need to worry about me!'
'You're lying and you know it. Just look at yourself', Sirius came to a halt and took in her pitiful appearance in broad daylight. 'You're nothing but a skeleton these days!'
'I don't have a lot of appetite when work starts piling up.', she defended herself, squirming under his scrutinizing eyes.
'You used to eat mountains of food just a couple of months ago. Now you barely have one meal. You cannot tell me that this is normal!'
Phia didn't reply, but merely rolled her eyes in defiance, frustrating Sirius further.
'Phia, we're your friends. We are supposed to be there for you when you troubled. Stop shutting us out.'
She didn't dare to look at him directly, hence gazing at a point behind him.
'There's no need for you to burden yourselves with my problems.'
'For fuck's sake, stop acting like a martyr!', he roared. She ducked her head, shoulders up, in a self-defensive way.
Immediately regret shot through Sirius. After he had calmed himself, taking a few deep breaths, he went on, his voice a lot gentler, but also raspier than before.
'We already know that there are things that you're not ready to tell us. Everybody has their secrets, their stories and I believe that you have more than one to tell. But don't shut us out completely. And I'm not doing this entirely on my behalf, either, even though I assume that you know that already.'
Phia still wouldn't look up, but his calm words sunk into her skull, stirring something inside her.
'Don't make Hestia and Lily suffer like this anymore. And Marlene, Alice and Mary,' he notably struggled with the last name, 'Stop being so bloody stubborn for once in a while. And for the love of the Gods, Phia, please, eat something before we have to force-feed you.'
Sirius watched her carefully throughout the silence that followed. Her head hung low and from what he could tell she was biting her lip rather violently. He slowly reached out for her face, raising it. She pushed his hands away and pressed the sleeves of her robes to her face, stifling a sob.
Instinctively, Sirius gathered the small girl into his arms, murmuring coos, hushing her. He wasn't exactly sure as to why he was acting this way, it was unusual of him to react like this to a girl. But it felt right to soothe her in that moment, hence he brushed the strange, new feeling in his gut off.
Phia muttered a string of apologies into his chest and he replied by nuzzling his face into her hair, telling her that it was alright.

Once her sobs had subsided she slowly detached herself from him, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to make them look less teary. Sirius merely chuckled and ruffled her hair, like he always did. It was a display of affection that was reserved only to her, he had noticed.
'Seriously, you're starting to act like Jazz.', Phia mumbled.
Sirius arched his eyebrow, an amused, but slightly quizzical expression dancing across his eyes.
Phia rolled hers in return. 'I'm saying that you act like my older brother.'
Sirius snorted. 'Well, now that's odd. I was never that much of a good older brother as far as my family is concerned.'
'Your family is completely nutters, Sirius.', Phia stated, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
'True.' He showed her one of his wide grins, not the lopsided smirks he shot the ladies to charm them, but a genuine, cheerful grin.
'Let's get back inside. You need food first – I'll show you the way to the kitchens.'
He grabbed her hand again, feeling content when doing so. Phia stumbled over her own feet in the snow a couple of times, trying her best to catch up with him. He was so much taller, stronger and more agile that it was hard to keep up with his pace even if they were on steady ground, yet, they were wading through two feet deep snow.
Growing impatient, Sirius grabbed her and scooped her up, placing her torso on his shoulders and carrying her back to the castle.
'Sirius, put me DOWN!', the Ravenclaw screeched.
'Not a chance, sis.' He put emphasis on the last word and Phia couldn't help but smile.
People stared at them as they passed by, but neither of them bothered.
Once they were inside the Entrance Hall, Sirius put her down and immediately resumed to dragging her along by her wrist again.
'Sirius, why can't we just wait until dinner?', the younger one whined.
'Because you need to eat right now. Besides', he looked at her with a wide grin, 'it's about time you learned about the secret passageways of this castle. You said nobody ever managed to map out Hogwarts entirely-'
'Yes, because it's impo-'
'It is possible, dear little one. We did it!', he pulled her closer, his eyes brightening up with elation. Phia immediately knew whom he meant with 'we'. James, himself, Remus and Peter.
'You're kidding.', she breathed.
'Nope, I'm not. I'll show you in the dorm. But first things first – we're off to annoy some houselves for loads of toast, bacon and muffins!'
'You are bonkers.', she proclaimed with a chuckle.
'So are you. Welcome to the family.', he tugged at her hand, firmly grasping it with his own.
Phia broke into a fully fledged smile now, very much contributing to Sirius's joy. He instantly intertwined his fingers with hers as they descended down the stairs in the direction of the Hufflepuff Common Room, noting how small and tender they felt in his grasp. The fuzzy feeling in the pits of his stomach returned, though this time he didn't try to shake it off, but instead mistook it for something along the lines of adrenalin, thinking he was merely excited by the prospect of showing Phia the kitchens.
Oh, little did Sirius know…