A/N: On a roll? I think so ;) This chapter has a lot of fragments….whatever! I hope you enjoy. Many important things occur. Please review!

I had prolonged it too long, and now I was sweating it out. Regulus was supposed to meet me outside the Great Hall before dinner, where he thought I was going to ask him how his Christmas vacation had been—that was not the case. It was time to break up.

After spending the holidays with Sirius, I was pretty sure I was making the right decision. Besides, now I didn't have to admit to my unfaithfulness. I had obvious reasons to sever ties.

"Jackie," I heard my name and turned towards the direction it came from. Regulus was smiling, making him look youthful and energized. I felt a pang in my heart, but I couldn't back down.

"Hey Reg." I swallowed and tried to smile. It was hard to when all I felt was shame.

"How was your holiday?"

"Reg, I have to tell you something…er…rather, we need to talk."

The fatal words. Regulus's face fell and he nodded grimly.

"Ah." He put his hands in his pockets and looked up at me. He didn't look angry, but disappointed. "What was it? The age difference? Me being a Slytherin?"

"Um, actually it was your parents."

"My parents?" He asked, visibly confused. I wish I didn't have to explain.

"Yes. At the party, I went looking for you. I sort of overheard them talking to you." I sighed and looked away from him. It was too hard to say to his face. "They hated me, Reg. I'm not right for you. You're so loyal to your parents, and they cannot stand me. It wouldn't work. It can't. I can't change that I'm a Gryffindor, or that my best friend is Muggle born."

"I can't believe you heard that." His face had become stony, almost no trace of emotion.

"We obviously don't share the same values. I think we need to break up. It's not the age, or your House. Trust me, my friends have tried to persuade me with those reasons, and I did not listen!"

"Okay."

"That's…it?"

"Yeah. Clean break."

"Alright. I guess I'll just…see you around?"

He nodded stiffly, which was sufficiently awkward. I walked backwards a few paces, then bolted towards the Gryffindor table.

Dinner was on, and it looked good. My stomach was not up for such rich food, however. Not after that ordeal. I didn't know what to think. What had I expected? Regulus to beg me not to break up with him? That didn't happen.

….

I had expected to feel relieved after breaking up with Regulus, but I just felt like rubbish. The only thing keeping me going the first week of class was the promise of a Quidditch match on Sunday. It was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, and Petra, Levi, and Rebecca were all ready to support their team to the death. We playfully threatened them, and Levi and Peter actually bet against one another—a shocking exchange seeing as Levi didn't just throw his money around on anything.

…

Usually we would have sat with the others, but seeing as our teams were against one another, we separated. It was too bad; it would have made for some fantastic smack talk.

Xeno was not one for Quidditch, but Marina dragged him. Well, perhaps 'dragged' is not the proper word. He didn't put up much of a fight, and he didn't seem so disappointed that he was there.

"Who are we supporting?" Xeno asked, directing the question to Marina.

"No one in particular, as we have friends on both sides. Unless you were leaning one way?"

"No, no."

They waved goodbye and walked to the portion of the pitch for Ravenclaws.

"Look at you, Lily-all bundled up."

She smiled, "It's freezing outside. I don't see how Marina can stand wearing that skirt."

"You seem to be staring quite intently at the field." I raised my eyebrows in an interrogative manner.

"Oh shut up, Jacks."

"It couldn't have anything to do with Potter?"

Her already red cheeks (cold from the biting, frosty wind) flared nearly to the color of her hair.

"Possibly. I've decided to give him a chance. We…uh…"

"Yes, Lil?"

"We have a date set…for the next trip to Hogsmeade."

"And why did you neglect to tell me this?" I demanded, but before she could even open her mouth to answer, Madam Hooch had blown the whistle and both teams were off.

It was hard to see what was happening on the field because of the harsh winds. Though it was winter, I could sense a thunder storm approaching—there was electricity in the air.

The Chasers for the Hufflepuff team were good matches for ours. Our Beaters, however, were stronger. Their accuracy aided the team greatly.

With the score relatively even, it was up to Potter and Isa Jones (the Hufflepuff Seeker) to finish the game.

James must have caught a glimpse of it—a flash of gold in the horrible rain, which coupled with the tumultuous air made it difficult to see at all, let alone catch a small ball. He dove quickly, hoping to out fly his opponent. He outstretched his hand, just a foot away from another 150 points. Isa came behind him and bumped his broom aggressively. James didn't take it too badly, though. That would be the dumbest move Isa had made in her entire career as Hufflepuff Seeker. The premeditated collision was just what James needed to close in on the elusive Snitch. As soon as his gloved fingers curled around the ball, the Gryffindors roared in cheer.

Lily and I leapt to our feet, clapping wildly; the movement made my frozen fingers feel like delicate icicles poised to fall off of a sill, yet I was too happy to cease the applause.

"There'll probably be a party," Lily noted above all the noise. Her tone suggested further meaning. "Don't get yourself in the same situation as last time, please."

"I won't." I promised, not wanting to act defensive and ruin the joyous moment. We were one step closer to the cup!

We walked down the stairs and ran out to the field. But we were not the only girls there to congratulate our team.

And there was Sirius, predictably chatting to a circle of female admirers. He openly flirted with them, even allowing a few to kiss him on his stubbled cheek. He encouraged them.

It infuriated me.

I watched, a good ten feet away, with squinted eyes and slightly parted lips. Anger coursed through my veins.

"How could you, Sirius?" I asked, but I might have just posed the question to the very wind that whipped my face.

It did not matter that James had girls around him, or that every player had at least two 'fans' talking to them. No. All that mattered was that Sirius was back to his old self again. All that mattered were that these girls kept saying 'Oh, Sirius, you were so great!' 'You did such an amazing job hitting that bludger at the Hufflepuff Chaser!'

I took three steps forward, and repeated, "How could you, Sirius?", a little louder this time.

No answer. I was just drowned out by the fangirls' squealing. They didn't know who he was. They could have no idea: he was damaged goods, just as much as I was. He hid behind a mask of beauty and arrogance.

Did he think of no one but himself? Did he think of Veronica? It had just hit me that they might still be an item. She, who probably thought they were still together. The one who was probably on her way back with friends to the Common Room, to the warmth of the fire. Did he not think of her? Did he not think of me?

I could acutely sense that Lily was over my shoulder, a few paces back—watching, even though it was raining. I wished I could go to her and tell her, "Let's go inside. Let's get out of the rain so we don't get sick." That I could be unselfish for once. But I couldn't. I had to resolve this.

I felt that he could see me out of the corner of his eye. As a Quidditch player, he must have good peripheral vision. Yet he made no move to look. That was it.

I couldn't stand that he had spilled his guts to me about his damn family, that he had shown me the secrets that the Marauder's Map concealed—I could not stand the idea that he was a different person over the winter break with me. That he had confided in me…that I had confided in him! Look at him now: a hot commodity. I couldn't fathom how he could get up there and be so fake, when underneath his façade was a solemn and lonely man. Surrounded by friends but abandoned by family. Not so unlike myself, I had thought.

And at the end of it all, maybe the problem was that I was seriously in love with him. Perhaps I just couldn't take the idea of him pretending to be something he was not, and have girls fawn over him for it.

Once again, I stepped forward—up to my ears in agony over watching the scene. I had to do something. Confronted with the bodies of the hormonal girls, I pushed my way through, as if I were parting the seas.

He looked at me in surprise, water falling down on our faces. It was like in those movies Lily had suggested to me, when people were about to confess something great and powerful. I was not intending to confess anything. I was about to reprimand him.

"I cannot believe you, Black!" He just looked at me, laughing it off as if I was just a crazy girl. The others, slags and wannabes alike, turned their attention to me and appeared like they wanted to scratch my eyes out or inflict other bodily harms on me. I glared back. I knew who they were; we were in the same House; in the same dormitory in some cases. I knew their dirty secrets—knew it all. I heard them in the middle of the night crying over boys, family…did they not know that? Obviously not, as they were casting harsh judgment.

"You…I don't even know what to say. You left Veronica up at the Common Room. Have you even said hello to her yet? Have you told her that you're over her? She does not deserve that kind of treatment. Maybe I was jealous of her, being with you. Now I just feel sorry for her. No, I take that back. I feel sorry for you for having to pretend. Over the winter break, I thought I met you. The true you. Comforting, sweet, adventurous, intelligent—but above all, abandoned and searching. Perhaps I was just tricked, like them—tricked into believe you're something more special than you are. I can't believe I fell for it. I thought I was smarter than that."

Sirius, in a hushed tone, asked the girls to leave. They reluctantly dispersed.

"I thought we had something. Whenever we held hands or walked around the castle…I savored those moments, but you didn't, apparently. I'm disappointed…disappointed in myself! I feel humiliated. I left Regulus—upon your urging! I finally realized that you were right! For what? I just don't know. I thought we knew more about each other. I thought I knew the real you. But I guess I know exactly what I did when we started this charade of trying to get along—you're nothing."

"Jackie…" He was whispering, either at a loss for words or trying to detract the attention. "I was completely honest with you."

"I thought we had something, Sirius. I thought that was it. I finally gave in to you, and here you are!" I gestured my hands around the stadium. "Girls throwing themselves at you, and you take it and act like a king."

"Over holiday—that was who I am. But I'm this as well. I'm this person to the rest of the student body. If they knew how weak I can be…you're right, I am nothing." He shrugged. "I've got a handful of friends, sure. The rest of the people are clinging to me because of my looks, right? Because I'm nothing but my appearance. That's what you're saying, correct?"

I couldn't form a coherent thought. I'd done it—I'd hurt him. I could see it in his eyes.

"You want a commitment. I get that. I just don't know what I want…I just know I like you very much."

"You like those other girls a great deal then, too?" I quipped, arms folded.

"I don't. Stop attacking me."

"Then why do you do it!"

"I don't know!" He roared. Thankfully, most of the players had left for the castle and the spectators were leaving. "I must be messed up, yeah? It's who I am; then you come along and I'm confused. Everyone else has been a fling—one night stands, the odd date or two. I've never felt like this about anyone. I'm just not sure how to deal with it, okay?"

I opened my lips to speak, but they were soon captured by his. It was an aggressive kiss, fueled by his intense emotions. I resisted, but only for a moment. I forgot everything I had said, and just focused on what I was feeling. I sighed into the kiss, surrendering to this reconciliation.

"Inside!" McGonagall barked. She was nearly drowned out by the thunder.

Sirius pulled away with a sigh of his own. He smiled crookedly, and I could feel my lips twitching into a similar expression.

"That's that, then?" He asked with his signature air of arrogance.

"That's that." I nodded in confirmation.