Thanks to kittyhawk09 for reviewing the last chapter and also for the very interesting discussion we had afterwards :) Everyone else - where were you? ;) No, seriously, I'd like a few more reviews... consider this me asking very nicely.

Anyway, on to the chapter.

"How did you get this?" I asked, staring at the two children.

"Callie was so friendly to get it for me. She couldn't believe it, either..."

"Believe what?" I snapped. How dare she search my things? How dare he make her search my things?

"See, Severus told us an interesting little story-"

"That's it," I growled. "I'm going to kill him."

"You see," Reg continued calmly. "It appears that he found you and my brother in a deserted corridor. Apparently, you were all over each other."

I groaned and buried my head in my hands.

"You promised," Reg said and only now he did sound really hurt. "You promised to keep away from him."

I looked up. "Reg, listen-"

"I know you don't love me!" he interrupted me. "I know, all right? But my brother? I don't know why you had to stoop so low."

"Reg, please, I-"

"I don't want to hear it," he said, getting up. "We're over. Good for you, I guess. You can go shag my brother without the secrecy."

I got up as well, reaching for him. "Don't, Reg, I'm really-"

"Don't say you're sorry when you're not. You love him, I get it. I just wish you didn't."

"Are you completely out of your mind?" Evan yelled.

He had found me in the library and had managed to pull me into a rather disserted corner.

"No, I'm not," I answered. "Quite the contrary. I've finally come to my senses."

"You were to marry him! And what do you do? Go and sleep with his brother, the Gryffindor blood-traitor."

"I haven't slept with him!" I exclaimed, "Why do people keep saying that?"

Evan growled. "You go back and apologize to Regulus. Beg on your knees, if you must, but make sure he marries you."

"I don't want to marry Reg," I said calmly. "I'm sorry for his pain, but I'm glad that I don't have to marry him."

"Mum and Dad know," Evan threatened, "They'll disown you."

"Let them," I bit back. "I'm better off without you lot, anyways."

Before I could even blink, he had wiped out his wand. "You'll do as you're told," he growled, pushing the wand into my chest.

"Or what? What are you going to do to your own sister?"

"You can't even imagine, you little-"

"Impedimenta!"

Evan was yanked away; he crashed against the nearest bookshelf and sank on the floor with a yelp. I turned my head to see James, a satisfied smirk on his face as he regarded my brother.

"Wanker," he said before turning to me. "Are you all right?"

"Sure," I said. "Thank you."

James merely shrugged. "I keep saving you from him. It's sort of my thing."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Come on, let's get out of here." I grabbed my books and set off through the library, James on my heel.

"What were you arguing about?"

"He wants me to ask Reg to make back. Which I won't. He says my parents will disown me. He's probably right."

I had played calm with my brother, but in truth, I was freaked out. What was I supposed to do if they disowned me? I had no money of my own – I would end up on the street. At least, I still had a year of Hogwarts; a place to come back to. But after that?

"Good," James said. "No offense, but it's better to not associate with these people."

"Only without these people, I have no place to go," I said.

"What are you talking about?" James said. "You're staying at my place. The manor is big enough. My mum will love to have a girl in the house."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "You want me to move in?"

"Well – yeah. Sirius did, too."

"Sirius is your best friend."

"You're a friend, too," James insisted. "Of course I'll help out."

I felt my eyes watering. "Thank you," I managed to say. "James that's... awfully nice."

"Oh, no," he said uncomfortably. "Don't cry."

"Sorry," I sobbed. "It's just too much."

"There, there," he said, awkwardly patting my shoulder.

"Sorry," I said again, wiping my tears away.

"But don't expect me to hug you," he warned. "I don't do that."

Somehow, I laughed through my tears. "Didn't expect you to."

I reached Charms class and fell into my seat next to Callie, not once looking at her. At first, I had been quite angry at Reg for making her search my things; then, I figured that I would probably have done the same thing in his position. My anger at Reg had faded very quickly. What stayed was pity for him, but also relief. My anger at Callie lasted though – supposedly such a good friend, she had searched through my things because of the mere testimony of someone as unreliable as Severus Snape. Since when, exactly, did she trust Snape more than me? And in what universe was it okay to just look through your best friend's things?

"I'm tired of you judging me!"

I turned my head to look at her with raised eyebrows. "Tired or not, I am judging you."

"Well, I am judging you, too! Cheating on Reg, what were you thinking?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but found that I didn't have an adequate response. What had I been I thinking? I had cared very little about the possible consequences.

"Still doesn't give you the right-"

"I couldn't believe it, okay? Reg said he needed prove. He told me about the picture. He said it would prove that Severus was lying..."

I swallowed hard, the pity for Reg crashing over me like a wave. He had once been one of my best friends. How could I have done this to him?

"And you couldn't wait and ask me to show you the picture?"

"You wouldn't have."

"Of course I would have! I haven't looked at it for ages, I didn't even know Reg had disappeared from it."

Indeed, the change in the photograph had taken me completely off guard.

Callie huffed in annoyance. "I really can't believe that you blame me, now."

"Deal with it."

She frowned at me and then a triumphant smirk spread on her face. "You're getting disowned. Evan told me."

"Glad you're up-to-date."

"Was it worth it?" she inquired. "Losing your fiancé, your family, your friends?"

"Listen up," I said, patience running low. "I don't really think we were friends anymore. We were once, but you left me the second I turned to Sirius. I came back and you took me in again – and now, you turn your back on me once more. That's not friendship, Callie."

She glared at me, and then gathered her books, quill and papers and moved away, joining Maia at a table two rows away from mine.

"So," Sirius said as I sat down next to him in the Great Hall. "Quidditch match on Saturday. Are you cheering for Slytherin, or for us?"

"I thought I might just not go," I answered.

"You're going to miss the Quidditch match?" James stared at me, horrified. "Are you nuts?"

Lily sighed heavily. "Personally, I think Selene's right. A Gryffindor-Slytherin match is not a good place for her to be right now. Quidditch is not that important, anyway."

"Not that important?" James repeated. "How is this my girlfriend?"

"Well, I promised to skip to studying to watch you, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah..."

"And don't you forget it," she said, leaning over to swiftly press her lips to his. "Now I have to go, get the studying done that I won't do on Saturday."

James groaned and rolled his eyes, but Lily merely laughed at him and skipped out of the Hall.

"You're cute together," I complimented.

"Too cute," Peter said, grumpily stirring his soup. "I get seriously sick in the stomach watching these two..."

"All over each other," Sirius added, "All the time."

"Oi," James exclaimed, "We're not that bad."

"Actually," Remus said, smiling slightly at his friend. "You are."

I giggled as James turned red.

"We're not all over each other," he protested. "Not all the time, at least."

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