a/n: I fixed this chapter up some from how it was originally. Mostly grammar, no plot changes. I am confusing myself with this story. It's supposed to be that Dumbledore is just a teacher, the Headmaster is. . .someone else. Why are they in Dumbledore's office then? I don't know, I'm sorry.

Ariadne Chant:

And troubles begin.

I feel as if I've shown Sirius a part that I haven't shown anyone, and this makes our relationship maybe, more special than it once was. To me anyway. But this does not stop Sirius from committing his usual ridiculous acts.

I'm in the Common Room, as I now am most nights. This is when Ambrose approaches me, her eyes blazing, and the front door of the Common Room slamming shut behind her, much to the irritation of the Fat Lady.

Ambrose, whom I cannot help but describe as extremely obtuse, has beautiful red curls that fall down her back elegantly, an ungainly walk, which distracts most people from her green/blue eyes. Her worst character flaw is probably the fact that she has an unhealthy obsession with Severus Snape, which I have hardly never failed to poke fun at. Though our many plans to get Ambrose to catch his eye had failed time after time, Ambrose is nothing if not headstrong and determined.

At this moment she looks just has determined as ever, but with her eyes blazing and her red curls giving her a eerie fiery halo. She strides up to me, fury in her eyes. "See what your boyfriend's done now!" I don't it's the appropriate time to tell her that Sirius is not my boyfriend.

What has Sirius done?

"I've just come up from the Hospital Wing. Snape's down there." I don't gasp, but I come close to it. Had Sirius done something to hurt Snape. . . .well more than just teasing?

"He tricked him into going into the Shrieking Shack." Now I do gasp. What had Sirius been thinking? Everyone knows the Shrieking Shack is haunted. No one in their right mind would enter a place with such potential of containing dangerous ghosts.

"And there was a werewolf in there!"

"What!" I cry. Was Sirius capable of such stupidity? Had he known there was a werewolf in there? No, I think to myself, there's no way. But in my heart I know its a very probable possiblilty.

"Now do you see? The only reason Snape is alive this very moment is because James, not being as much of an idiot as his best friend, found out about the 'joke' and got him out in time."

I just sit there, mulling over what I had just been told. Ambrose admits that she had come up to give Sirius a piece of her mind and the beating of his life, but I quickly convince her that she might do something rash and that such things are left better to the light of day. She reluctantly agrees, and says that she must go back to Snape anyway. "He needs to know there's someone there for him." She says somewhat proudly as she exits the GCR.

I'm glad I got her to see reason. Sirius has no qualms about hitting a girl, as long as he is provoked. Chivalry is stone cold, and Sirius is living proof of it.

I don't know what Ambrose had been doing out at this time of night anyway, nor what Snape, Sirius, and James had been doing out either. I decided it might be best to listen to my own advice and sleep on it.

I walk myself up to my dorm and as has become usual lately, I don't sleep for a long while.


Sirius Black:

Iwas in Dumbledore's office, his eagle sharp eyes glaring into mine.

"What exactly were you thinking, Black? Eh! Are you thick enough to expect that nothing would arise out of this incident? I hope not. I hope that this school has not been wasting its resources teaching someone who will commit such an act as this."

After a speech, like that, did he honestly expect me to speak? I guess so, from the looks he's giving me. I clear my throat, preparing to speak when he interrupts me. I suppose he doesn't expect me to speak then.

"And you, James," he continues, now turning his gaze to Prongs, and his expression softens. Yes, he's always had a soft spot for my best friend, which, even now, has never failed in pissing me off. "Thank goodness you were there. If not for you, Young Snape might not be with us."

I hold in my yawn, and slouch lower in my chair, hoping for this meeting to be over soon. Dumbledore's words begin to slur together in my mind. I watch the Whomping Willow wiggle its branches through Dumbledore's window. It really isn't such an ugly tree. Thena few words make me sit up straighter and pay attention to the conversation.

"Ambrose will of coarse have to be transferred. We have spoken with her parents and they have agreed that this is the best choice for all concerned. She will be sent to Durmstrang at the end of the week. Until then-"

"Ambrose? What's wrong with her?" I ask, sincerelycurious.

I receive another glare from Dumbledore for my comment, which brings to light the fact that I was not listening. But he finally answers. "As I just mentioned before, Ambrose has grown. . . violent. She nearly killed you last night, though it seems you barely noticed."

"She what!" I cry, leaping out my seat. "How?"

He folds his hands together, obviously amused, inwardly of coarse, because what sane Headmaster would be amused of the near death of one of his students? Only Dumbledore. "She obtained a knife, how she got it is unclear. She was heading towards your dorm when. . .she was detained."

"How?"

"Look, Sirius, maybe that isn't the most important thing you should be asking here, eh?" Prongs is looking at me strangely, and it finally dawns on how deep the shit I'm in really is.

As I sit back down slowly, I ask, "So. What's going to happen to me?"

"That answer is at the moment undecided." So thank god Dumbledore isn't the only one deciding my fate. If he was, I'd already be gone. "But since we cannot prove that you knew Remus was in there, in his werewolf form, and I very much doubt you will admit it, you probably will not get expelled from school, as much as you do deserve it." Do I catch a tear there in his eye as he mentions that? I almost chuckle in spite of the near pass I just had with expulsion.

"I will converse with my fellow staff members and the Headmaster and tomorrow you will be told of our decision." Damn. None of the other teachers have taken quite a liking to me either. This is the end of our conversation, everything in Dumbledore's tone and expressions signify it. And how glad I am that this time has at last come.

I'm in the Library, acting as a scribe for Dumbledore as part of my detention for being out late that night. He gave me the longest, dullest and oldest volumes to copy, so besides the fact that I will not be able to see James's first Quidditch match of the year, I have to squint to read it, strain my hand attempting to finish it recopying before I'm forty and try to keep my eyes open long enough to accomplish the latter.

How terribly exciting it sounds, does it not?

Several people have actually entered the Library. Must be some hard-core students, or random people who must be too cool for Quidditch I'd bet on the first one. Not too many people are too cool for Quidditch, truth be told.

So I don't notice when she comes in. Not until she's standing right in front of me. "That was possibly the singlestupidest thing you've ever done. And you've gone and done some pretty stupid things."

I look up at her. There are still dark circles under her eyes, which haven't disappeared in the month she's been at Hogwarts. I'm so busy staring at those eyes, that despite the poor condition surrounding it, are as bright and deep as ever, that I don't realize that those eyes are piercing into mine angrily. It takes a while for me to realize it, and when I do, may heart drops. Not only am I in deep shit, hated by quite a few, and ignored by many more, but now Ariadne, the one person I just assumed was with me, is angry.

"Look, you've done some prettyidiotic things, but nothing like this. He could have died, Sirius! And where would you be then? Not only would you be expelled, you might have even-" she shivers at what she was about to say, but never finishes that thought. "And the whole Ambrose situation is absolutely horrid. I mean, by doing what I did, she assumed I valued you as a friend more than I did her. She almost turned on me."

"By doing what exactly?" I ask, interrupting her steady flow of speech. I place a spare piece of parchment in my place in the book, so I can take out my finger. It is a pale white when it comes out, due to lack of blood flow and it throbs a little, but I manage to pull out the chair next to me. She just looks at the chair for several moments and blinks blankly. I don't know if she doesn't get what I am silently suggesting, or if she just isn't sure she wants to sit.

Either way, she sits down, slowly, and subtly moving the chair away from me. I catch the movement, though, and it pains me to think that she might not like our proximity anymore, but I don't say anything. She looks down at her lap. "No one told you?"

"I haven't been much in a position to be social, in case you haven't noticed." I don't mention how I've tended to sit in the rear of the class the last few days, to avoid, purposely, any type of negative attitude, which I get anyway. I don't even sit with Prongs, Wormtail and Moony anymore.

"James hasn't mentioned it?" I shake my head. She can't seem to get over the obvious. If I said I haven't heard what she did, why would Prongs have told me? I bite back a scathing comment, which normally would have popped right out. But at the moment I am enjoying the wee bit of company I have.

"Uh, well, Ambrose was on an angry rampage. She was enraged, far more furious than I'd ever seen her before." She pauses, and looks up at me for the first time since she sat down. "Ambrose has been in love with Snape since last year. And when you almost killed him, she went frantic. I saw her when she came into the GCR. I thought I'd convinced her not to take any more action. Well, obviously not, since she came after you with a knife."

"And I slept through this how?" Ariadne gives me a look that clearly states how little she appreciates my humor at this moment.

"She would have killed you if I hadn't stopped her. Do you get that?" She leans in closer, and the fact that she's not afraid of me lessens the effect of her being angry. "I'm not sure I want to live in a world without you, Sirius. Even if I you are a complete idiot."

I want to jump for joy and do a victory dance- except for the fact that her other words drove home right about then. "You stopped her? How?"

"She left me thinking. I mean if something happened to y-someone I cared about, I would feel horrible. And if Ambrose felt like that, I wanted to help her. So I went into her head to see in what state of mind she was in.

"When I felt that murderous craze, my god, I was terrified. I was afraid she'd already gotten you. And that I'd lost another friend." Her eyes had softened and didn't have that angry glint anymore. "It seems I cut her off, actually. And I. . .went into her head. I went in deep. Deep enough to hurt her. They all think I wrestled the knife from her. Even Ambrose believes it."

We're both quietly reminiscing over her last words and it's a long time before either of us speaks. "I've never hurt anyone before like that. It hurt me too, but not as much. And that's just because I didn't go the deepest I could." She looks up. "But I could," she whispers. "If I truly wanted to I could."

"Was it like that time you went into my head?" I ask quietly, trying to understand what she's feeling.

She shrugs silently and bites her bottom lip, a habit that has formedin thelast few weeks, and one which she still hasn't consciously noted yet. "I didn't go as deep as that. And I wasn't trying to hurt you when I went into your head. But. . .I could feel her pain. I think. . ." She pauses and Iassume she isn't going to continue.

"Well, then. I suppose I owe you a thank you. You saved my life, which is something that seems to be happening a lot in Hogwarts this year." I try to give her a wide smile, make her laugh like I used to. But I know that things aren't going to go back to the way they were.

So I'm not surprised when she doesn't laugh. She begins to get up, but I mutter something. She frowns somewhat and asks bemusedly, "What'd you just say?"

"Are you mad at me?" I pipe up, annoyed at how high and troubled my voice came out. I clear my throat, but I don't say anything else, just in case.

"Am I mad at you?" she ponders out loud; as if she's not sure of what the answer is herself. She just stands there a little while; in silence, but after a moment she gives me a halfhearted shrug. "I don't know. I have to think about it, I guess. So don't try to talk to me. . ." She shakes her head slowly. "I mean, just until I figure out how to act around you again. Please." She turns away from me as she is going to walk away, but she doesn't take a step.

"I think. . .I almost killed her."

She gets up and walks out of the Library, leaving me alone with the large volume once again. That, and my thoughts.

Not my favorite chapter, I admit. Work with me, won't you?