Disclaimer: I'm not at all happy to tell you that the negotiations were all in vain, so now I'm going to pester J.K. in simply handing over her characters.

4. The hurting of some

'Anna! Wait up!' Sirius called while running after her.

But she didn't. She just kept walking, until she reached the steps that led up to the castle doors. That was when Sirius grabbed her by the elbow and she whirled around, making him meet her angry face.

'What is it, Black?' she spat, 'Come to apologise for something you're not even sorry for?'

That had him startled. Was he even sorry for the incident that just happened?

'No, Anna, I-'

'Save it, I don't even want to know. I'd just be the next fling on your list if I believed you, and I don't intend to be on it.'

She pulled herself free form his grasp in one smooth move and disappeared behind the big, oak doors. Sirius stayed where he was, completely crestfallen. Much to his dismay, his little brother, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape came outside.

'…by the look on her face, she got dumped!' he heard Lucius say, and the other two laughed.

'That was probably a first for her, she usually does the dumping, the slut,' Regulus jumped in.

'Take that back, Regulus.'

'Oh, what have we here? Don't stand too near him, he might be a contagious blood traitor.'

'What's wrong, Black? Had a fight with the Gryffindor Whore?' Lucius asked snidely.

Regulus and Severus snickered. Sirius was on the brink of hexing them all, but them being three and him on his own, he didn't stand a chance, even with his duelling skills. He tried anyway. When he'd fired a hex at Regulus and was halfway in cursing Lucius, they sent various hexes at him, and he tumbled backwards down the stairs. He hit his head rather hard and all went black.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Those gits, three against one, how dare they!'

'Luckily we saw what happened.'

'But did you see the hex he put on Regulus? What were those things coming out of every hole possible?'

'I don't know, but they had feathers…'

'Canaries…' Sirius managed weakly.

'Bloody hell, he's awake! Padfoot, how many fingers am I holding out?'

'26, Prongs, as always.'

They both grinned and James exclaimed that he was okay. Sirius propped himself up on his elbows and looked around. As he'd expected, he was in the Hospital Wing, and everyone, including Susie and Peter, was by hid bed. All but one. Anna.

'Where's Anna?'

Nobody seemed to be willing to answer. In the end, Remus took it upon him to bring the bad news.

'In the common room. She didn't want to come see you, she's still upset with you.'

Sirius fell back on his bed and let out a groan.

'Can I give you some advice, Sirius?' Lily asked with a small smile.

'It'd be welcome.'

'Leave her alone, at least for now. I didn't know she was this upset until now. It's best if you don't throw yourself at her feet, she's used to that. Make her fight for you.'

He nodded in contemplation. Then they all stood up.

'We're off again, or else Madam Pomfrey will pop,' James said.

They all said goodbye, and Sirius watched as they walked out, not failing to notice that Maggie and Remus had linked hands. Now he felt even more miserable.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He woke up again around midnight. He felt good again, well rested, but there was no way he'd escape from the clutches from Madam Pomfrey at this hour, so he just lay back tried to sleep again. It was only then that he heard somebody moving around. He sat up immediately and looked around. Nothing, the place was empty. But there was that sound again, and now it was coming closer. Suddenly he realised it, James under his Invisibility Cloak. He grinned, the perfect opportunity to get away from here.

'Prongs, its okay, nobody's here,' he said in a low voice, almost a whisper.

But, to his surprise, it wasn't James who appeared from under the cloak. It was Anna. Remembering Lily's advice, he acted distant.

'Smith. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?'

She didn't say anything, but walked closer to his bed. Once there, she looked at him coolly.

'I came to thank you for defending me. The others told me about it.'

Something erupted in his stomach, and he suppressed a shiver. He didn't do anything, though.

'Was that all?'

'Yes, what did you expect? That I'd fall down and grovel at your feet for it?'

'Well, kind of, yes,' he said, grinning.

For a moment it seemed that she was going to crack a smile, but he never saw it clearly as the next moment she flung the cloak back over her shoulders and head and disappeared. He fell back on his bed and felt like hitting himself in the head.

He didn't sleep after that, or at least, not properly. He kept tossing and turning, and sometimes he fell into a light sleep, but never longer than 5 minutes. When it was 6:30, he got out of bed and walked out of the Hospital Wing, only to be stopped by Madam Pomfrey.

'And where do you think you're going?'

'The common room. I've got to get some things before I go to Hogsmeade with my friends.'

'You look as if you slept only half the night.'

'Well, that's probably because I did, but I'm feeling fine. Bye now.' And with that he waltzed right off, the dumbstruck nurse still in the doorway.

When he reached the common room, it was still empty, but there was still a small fire going. He sat in his favourite chair by the fire and waited until everyone would wake up. He heard a door open about an hour later, and looked up, but it was just a few fourth-years coming down the stairs, talking animatedly about what they were going to do in town. He waited another 15 minutes before he became fed up with waiting and went up to the dorm. There, he found the guys still half-asleep, but dressing themselves.

'Morning,' he said before walking to his trunk and picking out some clean clothes.

They didn't even notice him until he bellowed 'GOOD MORNING' at the top of his lungs.

'Padfoot, aren't you supposed to be in the Hospital Wing?' James asked while trying to get the sweater he chose over his head, but failing miserably.

'I woke up and felt fine, so I just left.'

Then he remembered something. 'Hey, Prongs, did you lend Anna the cloak?'

'No, why d'you ask?'

'Well, she visited me last night to thank me for defending her, and she was wearing the cloak.'

At this, James dove into his trunk and looked for his prised possession. It was still where and how he left, hidden under some old socks and boxers. He told Sirius that it was still where it was and that Anna might've got a cloak of her own. This, of course, raised some speculations, like when she used it and if she did, what she used it for. They stopped their conversation abruptly when there was a knock on the door.

'Hey guys, are you decent?' came Maggie's voice.

Remus perched up immediately. 'Yeah, we are, come in!'

The door burst open and Maggie, Lily and Susie filed in. Of course, Anna wasn't with them. Sirius sulked his way back to the common room again, leaving behind a few giggling girls.

It was another 10 minutes before they all came down and started towards the Great Hall to have breakfast. Nobody talked about Anna. And nobody saw her all through breakfast, or when they lined up to go to Hogsmeade. And with every passing minute, Sirius felt gloomier than the one before.

I would like to thank the people who already reviewed and ofcourse, my mother, for being supportive, and all of my fans! couldn't have done it with out you, mates! P