Chapter 131

Trouble With a Capital T

Sirius cursed his defense teacher with all of his favorite curse words as he hid from her bloody pet. Of course, it was all in his head as he wasn't willing to so much as breath too loud due to the murderous fairy looking for him. Why him, exactly? Sure, maybe, he was the only fourth year that knew half those spells, and certainly the only one who could actually perform the killing curse, but surely James was strong enough to be dangerous too. Even the werewolf had only managed to attempt to claw Remus' eyes out. Why did his clone have to be the raging lunatic!

Okay, so he'd used a dark spell on Snape once or twice, and sure he'd almost fed him to a werewolf but still! He wasn't crazy!

There was a flash of blue light from just outside the door and Sirius retreated further under the bed until he heard his name.

James' voice, Remus had said the creature couldn't change on its own once assuming a form so it couldn't be the monster trying to trick him. Then there was another voice calling his name, Professor Svalinn.

"I'm in the bedroom," he called back climbing out from his hiding place. James broke the door down n his hurry to reach Sirius, throwing his arms around the pup in a frightened hug.

"Um, ow." Sirius tried to keep the panic out of his voice. James jumped back as though he'd been shocked.

"Merlin's pants, Padfoot, you scared me half to death!" James exclaimed and he looked it too. Breathing heavily and shaking something fierce. It wasn't nearly as bad as Sirius' own shaking, though.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Next time I nearly get murdered I'll be sure to gently inform you. Can't have you getting worried now," Sirius rolled his eyes at the future-stag and James laughed. It sounded a little hysterical, though.

Svalinn gave a curse from where she leaned on the doorway, relief on her face. It was strange hearing a lady using sheer words. His mother and Bellatrix could swear up a storm when provoked but he didn't really consider them ladies.

"You just have to make everything difficult, don't you, Black?" she said shaking her head, but the worry she'd felt just h moment ago was evident in her body language no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

"I'm sorry? I nearly got murdered by your pixie over there and you're the one complaining?" Sirius retaliated, sitting on the bed and holding his head the room was beginning to spin aggravating his headache and making him feel nauseous.

James sat next to him rubbing his back, it felt nice but did nothing to help him. What it did, however, is make Sirius realize he was there.

"You're not supposed to be here, you arse, you'll get disqualified!" Sirius growled at the future-stag, who gave an awkward laugh. "You didn't think I could handle it on my own! Thought I'd get beat. Thanks for all the trust."

"You were hiding under a bed, Padfoot," James replied as though that explained everything. It did, but Sirus wasn't going to let him know that.

"I was setting up a trap!" he defended, he didn't appear to have fooled anyone, though.

"Of course, you were, Pads, of course, you were." James shook his head with a fond smile at his brother's defense.

"You're not going to fail this idiot, are you? I know he's stupid, but he meant well." Sirius was directing his attention towards the teacher now. She was smiling at their banter and didn't appear to be even considering the idea. Good, he didn't want James failing because of his own lack of foresight.

"Fail him? I plan on giving him perfect marks," she laughed at the very idea. "The point of this exam wasn't to win or even fight well. It was to prepare you for the world you are going to enter in a few years, some of you already have. And this world doesn't always require you to fight alone, in fact, it's best if you don't. It's always better to stick together. The courage that James showed, the desire to protect, is exactly what this world needs. I wasn't exactly planning on a situation like this, but it worked out just fine in the end at least. Well for the most part..."

She glanced at his wounds and sighed. "I am so getting fired for this. " The professor shook her head and knelt in front of them. "Tell your symptoms, I'm no healer, but I took a few classes on it when training to be an auror."

"I won't tell if you won't," Sirius smiled at her. He didn't blame her or her glowing dot. It was his own fault for not being prepared for a real fight. He shouldn't have gotten hit by that first spell, it was inexcusable.

She smiled at him in gratitude and did her best to get him back on his feet before sending him off to a real healer.

Judging from the panic on her face when she entered the room he thought he could add one more name to the short, but growing list of people who's concern for him was genuine. He might even be in the double digits now if he counted himself and Remus' owl, which for some reason seemed to like him.

Sirius was forced to spend the next two days going crazy as he sat in bed, and he drove everyone else crazy along with him. Sirius could not handle being idle for that long, even Remus looked ready to slug him by the end of the first day.

"I don't know how you stand it, Moony," Sirius complained when the three of them plopped themselves down next to him that Saturday and the werewolf gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Practice," Remus looked tired but that was to be expected. "You could always read a book or study, you've got two exams to make up, remember."

"I tried to read, but James wouldn't let me." he chose not to humor Moony with a response to the second option.

"You wanted me to bring you an illegal textbook, you prat!" James kept his voice down for the sake of the rest of Professor Svalinn's victims.

"I'm desperate!"

"Be good, Padfoot, and maybe Madam Pomfrey will let us take you for a walk," Remus teased leaning on Sirius' mattress and the mutt hoped his brother would fall asleep there. It did look quite comfortable.

"Wouldn't that be nice." He looked longingly at the door with a pout on his lips, "Tie me to a leash if you have to, just get me out of this bed."

There was a girlish giggle from a bed nearby at the dual meaning of his words, Sirius didn't bother to look behind him as he cast a nonverbal sleep spell on her. He was not in the mood for hormonal teenage girls today.

"You've got to admit you asked for that one." James shook his head just as irritated as he was. Why people couldn't just mind their own business was beyond him. "Did I tell you they're giving me an award for that quidditch game?"

"Three times," all three boys responded at once, Remus sounding the most exasperated of them all, no doubt having had to hear him talk about it constantly since McGonagall mentioned it. He continued talking anyway.

"First time a quidditch player has gotten an award for the position they don't normally play, according to McGonagall."

"Sirius?" they all jumped at the outside presence, and Sirius felt a growl trying to form in the back of his throat.

Was that normal for a human?

Andrea stood there looking awkward and pathetic in her muggle casual clothes, no make-up, her hair needed another date with a comb, and she'd never looked prettier.

And it was that observation that scared him the most.

She'd already broken his trust once, he couldn't just start liking her again. He wasn't going to let her do that to him ever again.

"What do you want?" he asked startling her with his severe tone.

"Padfoot, be nice," James reminded him but was still looking at Andrea. "How are you doing, Andrea? Any better?" he asked and Sirius felt a little betrayed that James would forgive her so easily but shook it off. That was the same part of James that had been so willing to befriend him despite his heritage and background. He couldn't begrudge James for that naiveté.

"Better, I think. Dad wouldn't let me come home for the funeral, though. Said I was safer here," she told them though they already knew.

"He's probably right," James nodded with a solemn expression. "He just doesn't want to lose you too."

"I know, it's just..." she trailed off unable to find the words she needed.

Sirius knew he should feel sympathy for her, but he couldn't find any. She wasn't alone, she still had a father who loved her enough to try and protect her she had an older sister she could trust and rely on. Her whole family would be there for her when she got home.

When he got home his mother would scream at him for his lousy grades and the best case scenario was that she'd lock him in the basement and take away his wand for a few days. He was even to the point where he couldn't help but wonder if she'd be angry enough to attack him. He knew he was pushing his luck angering her even more but he didn't care.

"I came here to apologize. What I said was uncalled for and I"m sorry. I know you had nothing to do with it, I was upset and wanted to take it out on someone else. I'm sorry and I hope we can still be friends." She gave him a hesitant smile.

That little voice inside him that told him to be good wanted to smile and nod and pretend everything was fine. It spoke in James' voice and reminded him that she'd had a rough time of it and that was why it had taken her three months to apologize not because she was a coward.

But she had rotten timing.

He was tired and irritable already from being trapt in bed for so long, he was anxious about going home for the summer, and he wasn't in the mood to listen to James' nagging voice in his head.

He laughed at her and could see James turn to give him a dirty look but he didn't acknowledge that he'd noticed, knowing he'd feel bad if he did. "I don't know where you lot keep getting the idea that we're friends. Even Wormtail could count the number of times we've actually spoken to each other." he sat up further in his bed, unable to get comfortable due to the scratches on his back.

She stared at him with a stunned expression that he liked better than the smile. It wasn't as dangerous.

"Padfoot, don't do something you'll regret," James warned under his breath but his voice was even, maybe a little sad. Despite the mutt's best efforts the lack of anger or exasperation made him feel guilty. This wasn't James nagging at him to be good for everyone else' sake this was his big brother begging him to make better choices for his own good.

"You said, at the party..." she hesitated looking hurt and a little confused. Reminding him of that disastrous party, however, had been a mistake, and he decided he didn't care what James thought.

"Yeah, and the very next day you accused me of being a liar, a spy, and a murderer. You tried to turn James against me, as well as everyone else. And, let's not forget the little fact that you did all this not even twenty-four hours after I found out one of the only true real friends I have could die because he wanted me to go to a quidditch game. So remind me, exactly, what make you think we're friends?"

There was an echoing silence in the room as he waited for an answer. His friends didn't say a word in her defense though he knew they wanted too. He wasn't sure if it was because they understood or if they just didn't want to make him angrier.

"That's what I'm apologizing for," her voice was little more than a whisper and her face was pale.

"And I'm supposed to just forgive you because after three months of silence you've finally worked up the courage to apologize," he gave her a disbelieving look but she didn't see it, her posture had gone from open and welcoming to self-conscious and sad, and he found a cruel satisfaction in the fact that she didn't look so pretty anymore.

"I had... other things on my mind."

"Yeah? I'll bet you did. Now if you don't mind, I also have other things on my mind, things like how I'm supposed to explain to my own mother why my grades aren't absolutely perfect without convincing her to unforgivable my arse, so you can just leave, thanks."

She took as step back as he dropped one last bombshell on her just to make it sting.

"Right, o-okay, I'll just go then." she retreated a little before turning back. "I did enjoy being your friend, Sirius, and if you ever change your mind let me know, okay?" There was another pang of guilt and he looked away.

"Yeah, okay," he promised and listened to her walk away not seeing the understanding smile on her face.

"Enjoy that did you?" James asked when the door shut behind her. He stood and made towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Sirius question was harsher than he intended. He knew James wasn't expecting an answer to his own question.

"Me? I'm going to apologize to your friend and attempt to convince her you're not as much of a heartless prick as you act." James glared back at him, neither of them cared that the whole of the medical wing was watching them now.

"Not my friend," Sirius muttered no longer looking at the future-stag. James gave him a stern look anyway.

"Of course, she's not, and she never will be if you don't let her."

"I tried that," Sirius snapped back, it was his turn to glare," and she stabbed me in the back. I'm doing it again."

"Yeah? Bet you're glad Remus isn't as big of an arse as you are, because what she did to you, Sirius, is nothing compared to what you did to him." He didn't wait for a response before turning and storming out of the room. It was a good thing as Sirius didn't have a response to give him. He sat there stunned as what James said sunk in.

Remus, for his part, said nothing and Sirius couldn't bring himself to look at him to see what expression was on his face. The little voice inside him no longer sounded like James so much as his mother as it berated him for not listening to it, and it wouldn't go away. Even a week later after James got his award and Sirus had to pretend to be excited for him, when he saw her boarding the train at the end of term it continued to eat at him. A mixture of pride and resentment refused to let him apologize, or even just to forgive her, even then.

He had more important things to worry about, anyway. His mother's fury over his low grades was much more concerning than the other beater's feelings.

He had all summer to cool down about it, she could wait until then.

A/N) Don't hate me! I'm sorry! Sirius why must you be so mean... cries*