The Marauders and Rachel were unable to perform anymore pranks during the next few weeks, though, since they were staying up until the wee hours of the morning doing their studying and assignments. This wore everyone down, especially Rachel and James, who were suffering even more during Quidditch practices. Even though they were practicing well, Debra kept working them harder because the game that could put Gryffindor in the finals was closing in on them very quickly. Suddenly, it was the first Saturday of March and it was Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Whoever won this would be playing against Slytherin in the finals. The entire team was very nervous as they sat there listening to Debra's pep talk. Usually, it worked, but everyone seemed too worried about the game to be listening. Conditions were very tough: it was pouring rain and it was extremely windy. They had used a Water Repelling charm on their faces, but they still sat there, pale, anticipating the moment when they would have to enter the stadium. And then it came. The Gryffindor team in their red uniforms walked out onto the field, broomsticks in hand, to face the Ravenclaws, who were in blue uniforms. Rachel heard the whistle from Madam Hooch and pushed off the ground into the wet and cold sky, hoping to find the Snitch soon. She circled the field for what felt like an hour, soaked to the bone, shivering on her broom, and then she saw what she had been looking for: the golden Snitch fluttering by one of the Gryffindor hoops. Urging her Nebula faster, she sped toward the Snitch and grabbed it, hoping that it wouldn't slip out of her grip from the rain. The whistle came that signaled the end of the game and the Gryffindor team flew down into their locker room, where they were jumping up and down and hugging one another. They were in the finals for the fourth year in a row. "Party in the common room!" someone shouted after the team changed into some warm and dry clothes. The team went up together to the Gryffindor tower together, arm in arm, chatting rapidly and cheering about their victory. As soon as the portrait of the fat lady opened, there was an explosion of cheering as Rachel and the rest of her teammates were dragged in. People shoved butterbeers into their hands and toasted to a Gryffindor win.
Rachel had never seen the house so excited about a game before, even after the numerous wins of the finals they had had over the past few years. She went looking for Sirius, intending on enjoying the festivities with him and her friends, but instead found him in a corner, whispering suggestively and flirtatiously in Cindy's ear. Cindy giggled girlishly and started stroking Sirius's arm and it looked like he enjoyed it. Fury rose up inside of Rachel as fast as a rocket and she had to fight the urge to hex him behind his back. Sirius glanced towards the huge crowd surrounding most of the Gryffindor team and saw Rachel standing there, watching him, fury and shock written across her face. His eyes went wide as he realized what she was witnessing. "Rach," he said and he started toward her, but Rachel slammed her butterbeer onto one of the tables, not caring what it spilled onto and stormed out of the common room. She started off walking, but then ran into an empty classroom, fighting back the tears that tried falling from her startling blue eyes. Rachel could hear Sirius running after her, calling her name. She tried locking the door but was unsuccessful as Sirius pushed open the door. "Rachel, that was not what it looked like—" Sirius started.
"Oh yeah, then what the hell was that? Was that your way of saying 'hello'?" Rachel asked, her voice rising, rage dripping from every word.
"I was just talking to her. There's nothing between me and Cindy!" Sirius persisted, but once again Rachel cut him off.
"No way in hell was that just talking! You know, Sirius, that's just," Rachel yelled, but then stopped. She was so furious at him that she was speechless. "We've been having problems lately!"
"Well then, let's talk about these problems. Tell me what these problems are."
"Well, for starters, you've been spending so much time with Cindy, acting all flirtatious and crap, not spending very much time with me, and all of us together does not count! You're so distant now that I feel like I'm not as important to you anymore, and normally I don't mind a little flirting but this has gone over the edge! It almost looked like you had your tongue in her ear!"
"How can we fix this, then, Rach?" Sirius said. He was very frustrated but wanted to work through this.
"I don't think we can. It's in your nature to be flirtatious and smooth with girls, but I can't handle it anymore." Rachel told him, sounding very tired indeed.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, hoping that this wasn't what it seemed to be.
"I—I can't deal with this right now! I'll talk to you later." she explained, completely worn down by the raging amount of anger that had boiled up inside of her earlier. Rachel stormed out of the room, on the verge of tears, and ran back to the tower and into her dormitory, ignoring the invites to hang out and enjoy the party. She curled up on her bed, still fighting the tears that longed to be released, and sat there, waiting for her fury to die down.
After a half an hour of sitting by herself, she decided that she would work through these issues with Sirius, on the sole fact that she loved him and didn't want to lose him. They were best friends. Surely they could work through everything that fate tossed at them. She pried herself off the bed and went into the common room, where the celebration was still going strong. Rachel looked around the room, searching for him, but when she found him, she greatly regretted even considering giving him another chance. He was in the same corner with Cindy, arms wrapped around each other, kissing like there was no tomorrow. Rachel simply just turned around and instead of going into her room, she went into the boy's dormitory and sat down on James's bed, waiting for one of her friends to come and cheer her up. She sat there, curled up in a ball, and started to let the tears run free. She knew that Sirius was very drunk due to the numerous bottles of Firewhisky on the table next to him, but that didn't change a thing; he had still betrayed her. There weren't as many tears as Rachel had believed there were, but she knew that they would be coming in waves over the next few hours. In a minute or so, Remus came into the room, looking happy but also tired. He was startled to see Rachel in their room, and even more shocked to see her crying. Remus rushed over to the bed, sat down next to her, and asked in a worried voice, "Rach, honey, what's wrong?"
"Sirius! That juvenile son of a bitch is what's wrong."
"Why? What happened?"
"After the game, I saw him whispering suggestively to Cindy Walters, and then we got into a fight, and then when I decided to work things out, I went downstairs and saw him k-k-kissing Cindy! That slut took my boyfriend!"
"Oh, Rachel," Remus said, with pity and comfort in his voice, pulled her closer to him, and allowed her to start sobbing onto his shoulder. He pulled her into a hug and kept whispering the words, "It's okay, it's alright." while gently stroking her beautiful brown hair. "If he did this to you, then he doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you."
They sat there for quite awhile, until Rachel pulled away a little bit, mopped her eyes with her sleeve, and looked into Remus' face and told him, "Thank you for being such a good friend. I know I'm a mess right now." Most of the next few minutes were a blur. Before they knew it or could stop it, they sat there, making out on the bed. It felt so good to be with someone so trustworthy and reliable that truly cared about her. They did that for some time until they heard someone clearing their throat at the doorway. Rachel and Remus quickly broke away and saw that James was standing in the doorway, a blank expression on his face. "Um, well, I'll see you later, Moony." Rachel said, hastily, and hurried out of the room and to her bed, wondering what she had just done and how much damage it would cause. When Lily entered the room she noticed how distraught Rachel was and sat on her bed with her.
"What's wrong, Rachel?" Lily asked concernedly. Rachel told Lily everything. Lily was furious at Sirius for what he did, but she was shocked about Rachel and Remus. "Do you like Remus?" Rachel shook her head.
"No! Which only makes me feel worse! I don't want to hurt Remus. Lily, what am I going to do?" Rachel asked crying. Lily looked at her friend sympathetically before hugging her.
"Rach, all you can do is explain to Remus how you feel and that it was a mistake. You should probably also explain to James what he walked in on. As for Sirius, I say let him rot." Rachel laughed at that. Lily smiled at the sound. Lily made to get up and go to her bed, but Rachel held on to her.
"Will you sleep with me tonight, Lils?" Lily smiled at her and laid down getting comfortable. The two girls slept peacefully that night.
The next morning Rachel woke up early and waited in the common room for James and Remus. She knew they would get up before Sirius after all he had to drink last night. The two came down the stairs arguing. They went silent when they saw Rachel sitting there. They walked over to her and sat down. James looked between the two of them. "What the hell happened last night?" James demanded. Rachel sucked in her breath. James had never been mad at her before. She looked down before looking him in the eyes. James was shocked to see tears in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry James and Remus. Sirius and I got in a fight because I saw him flirting with Cindy Walters again. And when I came back to apologize and work through it I found him making out with her. I was so upset I went to your dorm to wait on one of you to cheer me up. Remus came up and talked with me. He calmed me down. Before I knew it we were kissing. We weren't kissing long before you showed up James. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry Remus, but I don't like you like that. You are one of my best friends, and I don't want to ruin that. I am so sorry. I just don't know what came over me." Rachel cried out. The boys looked at her sympathetically before James pulled her into a hug. Rachel was shocked that James forgave her so easily.
"It's OK, Rach. If you want I will personally hex Sirius into next week for you." James told her. She gave him a small smile.
"No, don't worry about it, James. I mean I knew this was bound to happen eventually, right? Once a player always a player." Rachel said sadly. The boys gave her sad looks. They were interrupted by Sirius coming down and spotting them. He made his way over to them slowly. He looked at Rachel hesitantly.
"Rach, can we talk?" Sirius asked nervously. The boys glared at him and he gulped.
"Do you want us to stay, Rachel?" James asked her. She shook her head not taking her eyes off of Sirius.
"No, I'll be fine." Rachel said. James and Remus left and headed down to breakfast. Rachel took off her ring and handed it to Sirius. He looked at her shocked. "We're done Sirius. I should have known I couldn't trust you with my heart." With that Rachel turned on her heel and left out of the portrait hole with Sirius calling after her. She was determined to keep her head up throughout the day. She avoided the boys and sat with Lily in every class and meals. Everyone was talking about the separation of her and the boys. It became apparent to everyone why she was no longer with them at lunch when Sirius and Cindy were caught making out in a broom cupboard. When Rachel heard the news she excused herself from the prying eyes of everyone else and made her way to the nearest girls room and locked herself inside before she broke down. When she reappeared for lunch she noticed that even the other boys were avoiding Sirius now. Everyone was talking about hers and Sirius's break up and how the other Marauders were avoiding him and even yelling at him throughout the day. Rachel didn't know how to take the pitying looks she received from some or the hateful comments about how Sirius would have left her eventually because she wasn't good enough for him from others. James and Remus tried to include Rachel as much as they could, but Rachel usually just shook her head at them when they tried to call her over.
A week before the final Quidditch match Sirius and Rachel ended up alone in the common room late that night. Sirius was sitting in front of the fire and Rachel was sitting in one of the corners working on some last minute homework. She did not realize that the two of them were the only ones left in the room, but he did. He watched her work silently filled with regret. He knew he had royally screwed up, but he didn't know how to make her believe that he deeply regretted what he had done to her. He decided to test the water and got up from where he was sitting and approached her. She didn't notice his presence until he pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. She blinked up at him in confusion before looking around the common room for someone to interfere. When she saw no one else she turned back to him. He could see the pain he had caused her and it felt like a stab in his heart. "Rachel, I'm so sorr..." Sirius started but Rachel cut him off.
"Don't apologize. Why exactly are you sorry, Sirius? Because you got caught? Because you shattered my heart? Or are you just sorry because you're tired of the boys blaming you for me not being around anymore? You fucked up, Sirius. I had been worried something like this would happen when we first got together, but the longer we stayed together I thought you had really changed. I guess I was wrong. Look, I'm moving on. I'm sorry for how I reacted after I saw you and what happened with Remus, but I am moving on from you Sirius." It took everything in her to not cry while she talked. Sirius looked at her confused when she mentioned Remus. Rachel's eyes widened when she realized that they had never told Sirius what happened, and she just blabbed about it.
"What happened with Remus?" Sirius was watching her intently.
"It doesn't matter, Sirius. Just know we're even." Rachel saw Sirius' jaw clench and knew he figured it out. He got up abruptly and stared down at her in anger.
"At least I didn't make out with one of your friends!" Sirius yelled at her. Rachel stood up too.
"None of my friends would even give you the time of day! And at least Remus knows better than to cheat on his girlfriend at a party!"
"What are you two dating now?"
"No! Not that it would be any of your business if we were!"
"I can't believe I was about to apologize to a slut like you!" The minute it was out of his mouth he regretted saying it, but he couldn't take it back. Tears sprung to Rachel's eyes. Sirius tried to reach out for her, but she pulled away from him.
"I can't believe I loved a conceited man-whore like you!" Rachel yelled at him before the tears spilled over and she ran from the room.
"Rachel! Wait!" Sirius called after her, but it was too late. She was out the portrait hole and running down the corridor. "Shit. How did I let it get like this?"
"That's a good question. Why did you cheat on her, Padfoot?" a soft voice came from behind him. Sirius turned to see Remus and James standing there. Sirius sighed.
"I don't know Moony. We were just so serious, and it scared me. Then Cindy came and was flirty and fun, and I gave in. I regret it so much. I miss her. I still love her." Sirius admitted sadly. Then the little bit of information Rachel had given him came back to him and he glared at Remus. "But I bet you're glad I messed up, Remus. Now you have a chance to win her over." Remus looked at Sirius in shock. James was watching both of them waiting to jump in if he needed. He knew they needed to have this talk.
"Sirius, mate, it's not like that. I mean I have always had a small crush on Rach, but I would have never acted on it. I know how much she means to you. What happened between us was a mistake. Honestly, neither of us even really know how it happened. I was comforting her after she saw you with Cindy, and the next thing either of us knew we were kissing. Mate, I promise it will never happen again." Remus told Sirius truthfully. Sirius sighed.
"I believe you, Moony. What am I going to do? She hates me now. I've got to win her back!"
"Lay low for a while. Do something small for her every day. Don't let her know that it's you that's doing these things at first otherwise she won't accept them. Slowly work your way back in to her good graces." James said shocking the other two boys. "What?"
"That was actually good advice. You should use your own advice with Lily." Remus said. James scoffed.
"I can't now, can I? I have a girlfriend." James didn't seem to excited about this fact.
"Mate, dump her. You don't love this girl. She may be hot, but is she really worth it?" Sirius asked. James looked thoughtful before agreeing.
Rachel returned to an empty common room and sighed in relief. She made her way up to her dorm planning on sleeping. When she got up there she noticed Lily was awake. Rachel got ready for bed silently before getting in to bed. Lily watched her friend get ready for bed waiting on Rachel to tell her about the fight she overheard, but Rachel never said anything. Once Rachel was in bed she said good night before closing the curtains around her bed. Lily could hear little sniffles coming from Rachel's bed, but decided to let her be for now. Lily laid back down and fell asleep soon after into a dreamless sleep. Rachel tossed and turned have recurring dreams of Sirius cheating on her time and time again.