It would appear that the rest of the Veneficus Quidditch team either had no idea how to restrain their beloved captain, or simply didn't want to. Wren was straddling Scott Donaldson, holding him down in order to aim her blows better. It was a bit like one of those Muggle television shows about the jungle, in which two lions duke it out for the crown. Sirius had to admit, he was surprised at Wren's strength.

"Don't. Fucking. Talk about him. Again," Wren was panting between punches. Scott looked strangely calm, like he was having some kind of out-of-body experience. In fact, he was smirking serenely, ignoring the blood that was trickling down from his nose.

"Defending your crazy daddy? Too bad he can't even thank you, seeing as he doesn't know who you are anymore," he shot back. The fire in Wren's eyes had been slowly cooling, but now the flames were burning even higher than before.

"That's a lie," she roared, pounding her fists into his chest. "He's not- don't you dare call him crazy." Brutally, she struck Scott in the face again.

"Crazy-"

"SHUT. UP," Wren commanded. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" The entire team could see her slowly falling apart. The cool, collected Wren was losing it before their eyes. Having been in his fair share of fights before, Sirius could see that Scott was not going to come out on the upper hand this time. Wren's entire face was contorted with rage; there was no way she would let him go.

"Birdy!" Sirius tried, attempting to intervene. It had just occurred to him that if Wren tore apart a seventh year, chances were that she would not be captain for much longer. And, manic as she was about practice, the team couldn't afford to lose her skills. Veneficus may not have been his real school, but Sirius would be damned if he lost a game to some prissy, American all-witches school like Salem. "Birdy, cut it out!" He glanced at James for help. Taking the hint, James raced over, prying Wren's hands from Scott's chest.

"Calm down," he coaxed her. "He's not worth it." Once Sirius and James had successfully pulled her to her feet, Wren squirmed out of their grip.

"Get your fucking hands off of me," she growled. "I got this." She lunged back towards Scott, only to be caught once again by Sirius.

"Birdy, would you rather kill him, or beat Salem?" he reminded her, raising an eyebrow. "You'll regret it later." She glared at him.

"Sorry, Black, I wasn't aware you were a Seer," she sneered. Nonetheless, she backed off. Her mahogany hair had fallen out of its braid and whipped into her face, giving her a feral air. She looked like a lioness ready to pounce at any moment. "Practice is cancelled," she snarled to the rest of the team. Scott, who was bleeding in multiple places, chuckled at her from the ground.

"You mean you don't want to spend the rest of the hour beating me up?" he taunted. Wren's lip curled.

"Get off my pitch, Donaldson," she demanded lowly. "Get. The hell. Off my pitch." Slowly, Mason Armstrong stepped forward to help him up. Bess Burman was clutching Josie's arm. The entire team seemed terrified of their captain.

"Um, Wren- I, uh, don't think your dad is crazy," Bess squeaked, trying to be nice.

"Leave," Wren responded harshly. Shaking slightly, she watched as the rest of the team shuffled away in silence, a strange ache in her throat. It wasn't exactly that she felt guilty for beating Scott up - he deserved it. She just felt guilty that she didn't feel guilty, if that made any sense. She had just attacked someone and she didn't feel the slightest inch of self-reproach. It kind of disgusted her.

"You, uh, want to talk about it, Birdy?" James asked hesitantly.

"No," Wren said shortly.

"So... your dad really is crazy?" Sirius pressed, oh-so-tactfully. She scowled.

"He's not crazy," she insisted. "He's... sick. And he does still know who I am."

"Oh," Sirius responded, unsure of what to say next. "Um... How did it happen?"

"None of your business," Wren hissed, before stalking away dramatically. James glanced at Sirius.

"I think she's mad."

Sirius sighed. He had wondered for weeks now about why Wren was so... Wren-ish, but now, he wasn't sure he wanted to know at all. After all, knowledge came with a price, one that he certainly wasn't prepared to pay.

A/N: I am SO sorry about the wait! I was in a play at school, and last week was tech week so I was there until 8:30 every night, and then it was also the end of the trimester so I had a ton of work... Anyways, I'm back now. I didn't love this chapter but I thought I would try to get something out so you guys weren't waiting forever. Thoughts?