301 reviews?! You guys are amazing, I can't even believe it! Please, please continue to leave them, as I love to read everything you have to say about the story! Thank you SO much for the continued encouragement- it really means so much to me!

Many of you asked about my boyfriend. He is doing MUCH better. He had a bad bout of bronchitis, followed very closely by the stomach flu. It was a bad week, but he is back to normal (for the most part!)

No other news from me. Read and enjoy!

Haley Brams,

I would to thank you for submitting your application to the French Ministry of Magic's Council of Law in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. As you know, the application screening process is only a step in the direction of being admitted into the program.

We would like to extend a warm congratulations and invite you to attend an interview with the Director of the Council of Magical Law. As we are aware you are still enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy until June of 1978, we have contacted your Headmaster and gained permission for your interview to be done during your Easter vacation.

Please come to the Ministry of Magic, Paris, France on March the 25th at 2 in the afternoon. Attached is a map and directions to the Department.

Hope to see you on March the 25th and, again, congratulations,
Jacques DuChamps
Director of Magical Law

I placed my hand over my mouth, letting my cheeks blow out slowly. I did it, I actually did it. I managed to snag an interview, an interview for the best Council of Law program in the world. Not even half of the applying students get a nod for a follow-up interview. And I was one of them.

Mary stopped chatting with James, turning to look at me as she took a bite of her toast. "Haley? Everything okay?"

My friends had been on pins and needles around me lately, especially after hearing about my breakup with Sebastian. Though I didn't tell them the details, they were still expecting me to crumble to the floor at any moment in time. But, to be honest, I was feeling just fine. Classes were a tad awkward now, since Sebastian knew my deepest secret, but he wasn't one to spread rumors.

At least I hoped he wasn't.

"I got- I got an interview," I replied, disbelief riddling my tone. I turned to look at her, my eyes as wide as tea saucers, waving the piece of parchment at her. "I actually got an interview."

She snatched the parchment from my hand, hungrily scanning over the letter with gusto. She reemerged a moment later, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Haley! That is amazing, congratulations!"

"What's amazing, Haley?"

"Why are we congratulating?"

"Why am I always the last to know?"

Mary stood from her seat on the bench, holding the letter high into the air. "Haley Brams, one of my best friends, has received a letter." She paused dramatically, causing everyone to groan. "A letter that indicates a follow up interview for the Magical Law program in Paris, France. The best in the world."

She patted me on the top of the head before sitting down. As Alice and Lily were closest to me, they turned to congratulate me first. Alice threw her arms around my neck, pulling me tightly against her. My face turned a dull shade of red at all the attention, but my friends were not letting it down.

"You should be proud," Remus said, a smile on his scarred face, "that is quite an accomplishment."

I shrugged, standing from the table so I could swing my book bag over my shoulder. "It's just an interview, Remus, nothing to be excited about."

James shot up from his seat, throwing an arm casually over my shoulder as we made our way out of the Great Hall. "It's a step in the right direction, though! Stop putting down your accomplishments, we all can see how hard you've worked." He leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of my blonde head before peeling off, heading toward McGonagall's classroom with Sirius, who hadn't bothered to say anything, let alone look at me during breakfast.

I sighed, hitching my bag higher onto my shoulder. I felt an arm snake through mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw bright, red locks. I turned to glance at Lily, who was gazing down at me with a small smile on her face. The sun reflected beautifully across her bottle green eyes.

"He'll come around," she said simply. I nodded shortly, weaving my own arm through hers so we were hooked side-by-side. We quickly made our way down to the Transfiguration classroom on the other side of the castle.

As I entered the room, I nearly let out a groan of protest. Lily had taken an unexpected seat next to her boyfriend James, who usually sat with Sirius during classes. I glared at the redhead as she settled into her seat, sending me a sly grin. James looked nearly as surprised as I probably did.

There were only two seats left. And only two people left to come into class.

With that knowledge, I debated turning out of the classroom and immediately leaving, but Professor McGonagall marched into the room, her robes billowing out behind her. "Find your seats everyone, class is starting."

I hunched my shoulders, nearly dragging myself to the empty table near the front of the classroom. I dropped into the seat, silently taking out a piece of parchment, a quill, and my wand.

"Today we'll be learning about- Mr. Black, nice of you to join us. Please find your seat, as class has already begun."

I shut my eyes, letting out a slow breath. The silence Sirius emitted from scanning the classroom was painful, as it was clear that he was in disbelief that the only available seat was next to me. The leper. His leper.

"Sometime today, Mr. Black," McGonagall went on, pursing her lips into the tight, white line that I had learn to associate with James and Sirius, "unless you would like me to add yet another detention onto the list you have already made for yourself."

Sirius shrugged as he casually dropped into the seat next to me, moving the table with a slight squeak. "It wouldn't matter, professor. You and I both know I can't finish all those detentions by the end of the year anyways."

A few chuckles emanated from across the classroom. Professor McGonagall, who was not at all amused or impressed, said, "Another detention is in order, Sirius Black. Next time, maybe I'll just have Haley transfigure you into a grandfather clock. Then you'll know when to be on time."

More chuckles shot across the room, but neither Sirius nor I found anything funny about the professor's comeback. My face blushed to a dull red and, considering the situation between the two of us as of lately, I didn't bother looking to see what Sirius was doing.

I let out a breath as Sirius shuffled around his bag, tossing his wand and a roll of blank, crumpled up parchment on his side of the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him glance around for a moment before settling his firm gaze back onto me.

"Surprised you're not sitting with your boyfriend," he muttered snidely, clearly reveling in the fact that this was the first time in a month he had gotten me somewhat alone. "I thought that's what boyfriends and girlfriends were supposed to-"

"We broke up, Sirius," I shot back in a mumble, fixing the black headband I wore to keep my blonde curls out of my face.

His jaw slacked in shock. It was evident that this was not the response he was expecting. "You and him br-"

But the rest of his sentence was cut off by Professor McGonagall, who had started class at that exact moment. I never thought I wanted to kiss that teacher more in my six (almost seven) years of school. That includes when she gave me an O for an essay that really deserved an E, but who's honestly keeping track?

I spent the rest of the day awkwardly shuffling around Sirius and Sebastian, avoiding them both during the next two classes, lunch, another class, my afternoon break, and a final class that, thank Merlin, didn't feature either of them in it.

I dropped my book bag off in my dorm after my last class of the day, Ancient Runes. Remus and I made our way down to the Great Hall, skirting the corridors quickly and quietly since the Slytherin's were poised for an attack.

My guess was on the Gryffindor quidditch team, but I certainly didn't want to press my luck.

"I'm surprised you haven't had the time to skim Tomes and Scrolls," Remus said, continuing our chat about classic Wizard novels as he held open the tapestry, allowing me to jump through it. "With how often I see you curled in front of the fireplace, I just assumed that was the first place you went every Hogsmeade trip."

I laughed as we trekked down the Main Staircase. I let the palm of my hand brush over the smooth marble of the banister. "Well, usually I go to Hogsmeade trips with Alice and Mary, who are both very far from wanting to visit a book shop while we're there." I paused, sighing quietly. "And the last time I was there I was with…" I awkwardly trailed off with a slight shrug. "Anyways, I just haven't had the chance to go back since."

Remus thrust his hands into his pockets, casually glancing down at me with a small smile. "Next Hogsmeade trip, I'll take you to get a book. Merlin knows that you need to stop borrowing mine and get some of your own." He playfully tapped my shoulder with his elbow and I grinned up at him.

"That would be lovely, Remus, thank you."

We entered the Great Hall, scanning the table for our group of friends. I hung back as Remus leapt onto the bench, nearly shoveling half a chicken and a bowl full of mashed potatoes into his mouth as he did so. I raised my eyebrows, slightly impressed.

Must be the wolf in him.

Alice waved me over, signaling that she had saved me a seat, but I shook my head, my eyes wide with concern. I'm not sure whether she did it on purpose or unintentionally, but she had saved me a seat next to Sirius. She glanced to her left before turning her gaze back toward me, she rolled her eyes, pointing intensely at the seat next to her.

I grabbed a roll from the end of the table, tossing it in the air for a moment before catching it with both hands. "I'm just going to go. Detention in a few, you know?"

She glared at me with disbelief. "By a few, you do realize you mean 20 minutes right?" she shouted over the top of a group of first years. They turned to stare up at her, clearly thinking for a moment or two that it was them she was screeching at. I tried hard not to hide a smile. "Come have some dinner. Merlin knows you knew to put some meat on those bones anyways."

"I just don't want to be late," I said as I turned from the Great Hall, ignoring the calls of my friend's who were all trying to lure me back toward the table. I merely threw a wave over my shoulder, glad that I could avoid Black one more time before detention.

Unfortunately, things don't go as I plan as often as I hope they do.

"Oi! Brams!"

I froze mid-step, turning slowly to see the one person that I had wanted to talk to for the past month. Only now, the desperate feeling of needing his attention wasn't there. It was replaced with anger. A rushing anger that I couldn't quite explain or identify. I cocked an eyebrow, disregarding my heart, which was pounding magnificently against my ribcage.

"Brams, I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately. I-"

With that one sentence out of his mouth, I spun on my heel and marched toward Professor McGonagall's office. I couldn't believe- I just couldn't believe that Black had the nerve to say something like that.

I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately. I mimicked him cruelly in my head, continuing my half-jog toward the professor's office, fully intending to not talk to him for the rest of the school year. I would finish out this year, move to France, and never look back.

Maybe I would find a nice Parisian boy who would hand-feed me croissants during a candlelit dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, that's the right idea.

"Brams, what-?"

I twisted around to glare up at him. He stumbled over me due to my immediate stop, clutching onto my shoulders to catch his balance. I quickly writhed out of his grasp, not wanting to give myself even one second of wanting this boy back. "What do you want, Black?"

He was clearly taken back by my hostility. He smartly kept quiet for a moment, thinking long and hard about the next words that came out of his mouth. "When you told me that you and Brees broke up, I just thought-"

"You just thought what, Sirius?" I asked tiredly, cutting him off as I put a hand up to rub my temple. "Thought that I wanted to chat with you about it? Braid your hair while we sing campfire songs out by Hagrid's cabin?" I paused, taking a step toward him. "I don't want to talk to you."

Sirius furrowed his brow, glancing up at the ceiling in thought. "You don't want to talk to me in general or you don't want to talk to me about the break up? Because, honestly, I've had so many break ups, I probably would be at least a little help to-"

"I don't want to talk to you at all." I paused. "Ever again." I paused again. "About any topic of conversation that has or could possibly come up between now or graduation." I paused again, letting that information sink in.

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic about the whole thing?"

I almost screeched in frustration, but managed to let it out with a mere strong exhalation through my nostrils. "No, Sirius, I'm not being dramatic," I responded through gritted teeth, keeping as calm as I possibly could. "I went on a date with Sebastian-"

"Oh, here we go."

"And you stalked me using a map and an invisibility cloak-"

"That's a bit of a-"

"Then you watched me kiss him-"

"That really wasn't enjoyable, I promise you that."

"Then you stormed over and threw the signed list at me," I finally finished, planting my hands on my hips as I looked up at him. "That was truly uncalled for." I started walking down the corridor once again.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, following me through the dimly lit hallway. "I was just having a bit of fun. Lighten up, will you?"

"You weren't having a bit of fun, Black," I shot back, finally losing my temper. "You were being mean. You were being mean and cruel and you really hurt my feelings." I crossed my arms over my chest, continuing on with my rant without looking at him, as I was afraid the waterworks of tears would flood out immediately if I did. "I thought you were my good friend, Sirius. I trusted your judgment." I paused taking a deep breath in. "I was only doing what you wanted, anyways. You wanted me to move on, so I moved on, nothing more to it."

Sirius groaned, running his hands over his face. "I never said that."

I stopped right outside Professor McGonagall's office, my hand mid-air as I reached toward the doorknob. "What did you say?"

"I never said I wanted you to move on."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, in utter disbelief. "You said-"

"That we weren't compatible," he interrupted me, snaking his hand through his thick, black hair. "That we shouldn't be together, because we're going to be living two different lives. But I never said you should get over me. And I certainly haven't gotten over you."

My heart skipped a beat, but I wasn't going for it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… "You're basically saying the same thing, Sirius. You don't want me to get over you, but you don't want a relationship with me?" I slapped my thighs in frustration. "Where does that leave me? Waiting for you while you make up your mind?" I quickly shook my head, leaning forward to open up the office door. "I'm not going to stick around, because you may have some distant feelings for me. I'm better than that and I deserve better than that."

I threw open the wooden door. "Annnnd she's sleeping," I added in, shaking my head slowly. "Great, just great."

Indeed, Professor McGonagall must have had a rough day. She was asleep at her desk, her usually well-kept bun was slowly drifting to one side of her head. It gave her a haphazard appearance. I had never seen the professor look so…uneasy.

"It's probably the war," Sirius interjected into my thoughts, glancing down at me. I could feel my cheeks heat up dully, his gray eyes always making me melt from the inside out. "I read in the paper today that two muggle families were killed. The kids attacked by werewolves while their parents were forced to watch. The Death Eaters killed the parents…eventually."

"That's awful," I whispered, my jaw slacking from the news.

"Its war," he said simply, leaning against the doorframe.

"Should we wake her up?"

Sirius shook his head, leaning forward to quietly shut the wooden door. His fingertips grazed the back of my hand momentarily, sending jolts of shock up through my arm and to my spine. I could still feel where he barely touched my hand, even though he had removed his fingers already. "No, she doesn't wake me up when I fall asleep in class. I'll just return the favor."

I smiled for a second before realizing that I was indeed supposed to be mad at him. I covered up my smile by clearing my throat, taking a few steps away from the boy to put some distance between us.

"Haley-" he said softly, but I merely shook my head and walked away.

I hoped that, for once in his short eighteen years on this planet, he got the message.