I was glad to see my trunk put in its usual place at the foot of my bed when we entered the dormitory. The Return Feast had been as delicious as ever and I was beat.

The train ride had felt longer than usual, and that was saying something. We had sat apart from the fifth year boys, and surprisingly, I had been grateful.

I quickly headed over to my bed and pulled out some pyjamas before darting into the washroom. I tried taking my time, hoping the others were as exhausted as me and would be asleep by the time I came out.

Twenty minutes later, I had no such luck.

"Are we ever going to talk about New Year's?" Elodie asked as they all surrounded me.

Elodie and Fern were sitting together on Fern's bed while Blythe patted the seat next to her on her own. Zelene was also sitting on her own bed since it was directly across from Fern and Blythe's.

I grudgingly went to sit down beside Blythe, but not without rolling my eyes. I had expertly been avoiding talking about the boys' idiotic plan to kiss everyone on New Year's because it was so idiotic. No mention was needed ever again.

But as I looked at each of my friends I saw they were reacting differently than me. Fern, thankfully, also looked mortified, but that wasn't surprising. But, Zelene on the other hand looked as if she were mildly blushing at the thought, which was completely uncharacteristic of her. Usually, she was almost bored with the boys she dated, and definitely didn't blush after she snogged them. Elodie looked similarly as Zelene, which was peculiar still. Why weren't they acting appropriately!?

Exasperated, I turned to Blythe who just gave me an apologetic look. I huffed in frustration.

"Take it easy Addie, they didn't mean anything by it," Elodie started in a soft tone.

Fern turned her expression in disgust.

"See, I'm not the only one who didn't appreciate being bombarded by the boys, Fern didn't like it either," I pointed out, not wanting to be a mountain.

"Sheesh, that's an easy out Addie," Zelene chided, also rolling her eyes.

Fern didn't even come to my aid and the others shook their heads. None of us were surprised by Fern's reaction.

"Fine," I sighed exaggeratingly while crossing my arms over my chest.

"So, how did he kiss?" Zelene asked, no hint of jealousy in her voice.

I could feel my face turning bright red.

"Zel, we just got Addie to agree to talk to us and you go right for the kill. We don't want to scare her back," Blythe said mockingly.

It's like I was a deer in the headlights, or better yet an injured rabbit coaxed out of its hidey-hole.

"Well how 'bout you tell us all about Remus if you're so eager!" I shot back, feeling extremely uncomfortable in my own skin.

I saw Zelene turn that blush shade of pink again before smiling to herself.

"It was sweet," she answered simply.

"And?" Elodie asked, clearly wanting more details.

In the past, Elodie and the rest of us hadn't been too keen on the details of Zelene's love life, now it looked as if Elodie wanted to dig it out of her.

"I don't know, it was different. He was different. I don't know how to explain it besides sweet. Remus isn't like any of the other boys who have snogged me," she replied thoughtfully.

"Ooh," Elodie squealed as she latched onto Fern.

I couldn't stop the laugh from escaping my lips which earned a scowl from the squished Fern. She wasn't typically a very hands-on type of person to begin with.

I returned my gaze back to Zelene who still looked as if she were caught up in the memory of New Year's. It was baffling how much this seemed to affect her. I mean it had just been a half-assed plan probably spear-headed by James and Sirius, hadn't it?

"Are you going to ask him out Zel?" Blythe asked, always the one with the direct questions.

Zelene's blush darkened.

"I don't think so, at least not yet," she answered delicately.

I could tell she was contemplating something.

"But I thought you liked him?" Elodie asked, obviously confused.

"I mean, yeah, Remus is a great guy whom I think I would actually be happy to be with, but he seems so closed off in that respect," she continued with a frown.

The conversation I overheard on the train came flooding back. Of course, he didn't usually date, Remus didn't want the risk of being exposed.

But maybe if it were with the right girl? Someone he trusted to keep his secret. Maybe he could one day see himself with Zelene, but how long would that take?

I frowned to myself as I mulled it over and decided I felt bad for Remus and his life-altering secret.

"Adeline!" I heard my name being called which brought me out of my reverie.

"How was kissing Sirius Black?" Elodie asked in an exasperated tone.

I could feel another sudden bout of panic.

"Why don't we ask Blythe about kissing Max?" I suggested quickly.

Blythe playfully shoved my arm in response and I could see Elodie rolling her eyes.

"It's Max. He's a nice guy and a great quidditch player, but that's about it," Blythe answered casually with a shrug.

I knew Blythe was just as interested in dating as I was. So how was it that she could shrug off her answer, but I was being bombarded for mine.

"Elodie, how was Wendall?" I asked quickly, beating her to the punch against me.

I could tell she was frustrated but her cheeks dusted a light pink.

"He is a good kisser, and a perfect gentleman," she answered in obvious delight.

I could tell Fern was holding back rolling her eyes as Elodie's arms, which were still wrapped around her, squeezed tighter.

"Think you're going to go for it?" Zelene asked.

Elodie just shrugged.

"I don't know, I actually haven't thought about it. It's weird though, Wendall has been our friend for four years, I don't know if I could see him as anything more," she said contemplatively.

But before we could wait for an answer, all four sets of eyes turned on me at once and it was all I could do not to bury my head under the pillow.

"Why does it matter so much?" I sulked, not understanding their blatant interest in Sirius' kiss.

"Because, you ignorant prat, Sirius obviously devised this plan so he could kiss you without James going off on him," Blythe said bluntly.

I looked at the others who all nodded accordingly.

"That's not true," I replied lamely, not sure what to believe.

Was it true, had this all been a ploy? But why would Sirius want to kiss me?

Regardless of the facts, I thought, wanting to ignore the itch in the back of my mind, I had blatantly turned him down when I left the room. And I was yet to properly speak with him so hopefully, that would squelch any possible scenario of me liking Sirius or wanting to be with him.

My friends looked at me as if I were dense but thankfully let it go after that. We were all pretty exhausted from the holidays and wanted to get a good rest before classes resumed tomorrow.

None of us bothered to ask Fern about her kiss, I mean for Merlin's sake it was Peter. I was just surprised that he had sought up the courage to even attempt to kiss any girl at all.

I was still confused as I laid in my bed and replayed the events over in my head from New Year's Eve. I remembered the glimmering light from the fire place reflecting over his silky, black hair. His wily gray eyes with a level of intensity shining through. The softness of his hands as they settled gently on my shoulders and brought my head towards his. The eagerness of his lips even though he held back and only lightly brushed them against mine.

The sensation had immediately sent my back shivering with a course of electricity and I didn't know if that kind of reaction was normal. It had been so intense, I didn't know if I ever wanted to experience it again.

It was almost frustrating how much I didn't know about kissing and all the rest or how I even felt about the experience. It seemed so trivial in the grand scheme of everything else, and yet it somehow made a large impact.

I rolled onto my side in frustration and shut the thoughts from my mind. I couldn't tell if any of the others were sleeping yet since their breaths weren't slow or even. Maybe their minds were whirling as much as mine.

What was I supposed to do?

XXX

The next evening answered that question bluntly when a perky little Ravenclaw sat down beside me for dinner.

"Can I help you?" I asked the girl, confused by her presence.

Two point five seconds later, that question was answered.

"Oh, I'm joining Siri for dinner with his friends," she answered in a squeaky little voice.

Siri? What the hell kind of name is that?

Everything about her screamed cute and frilly, but I could tell underneath there was something less than innocent. Her presence was unsettling, and I didn't like her being so close to me. I tried to angle myself away from her and refocus on Elodie who had been talking about her Care of Magical Creatures class.

I was interrupted again.

"Oh, Maddie, this is Adeline Potter," Sirius introduced in his fake-sounding voice.

I looked up into his eyes with an incredulous look and saw the challenge in his eyes. I scowled in return.

"Oh, I know who she is," she said casually.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"It's Addie actually," I replied in an annoyed tone.

This Maddie girl completely ignored my reply.

"You are a pretty great keeper, and have all the boys looking after you," she said instead, with a slight malice underlaying her tone.

I gaped in response but thankfully Blythe came to my aid.

"Addie is an exceptional keeper actually. Gryffindor has won against Ravenclaw every game since she made the team," Blythe quipped which made Maddie scowl.

I was eternally grateful for Blythe in that moment.

"Maddie weren't you talking about your summer home in Wales?" Peter asked in his squeaky voice, filled with something equivocal to desire.

This turned her interest away from me and Blythe as she turned to Peter with a glowing smile.

This whole situation made my skin crawl. Maddie was obviously a horrible person and Sirius was now apparently with her. And not just that but bringing her to sit with us at dinner. He never did that.

I then shot Elodie a look. I could tell she was also uncomfortable as she looked between me and Maddie. I guess they had been wrong about Sirius being the devious matchmaker on New Year's.

I soon lost my appetite as I listened to her annoying voice go on about her family's riches and seasonal homes.

I thought it annoyed Sirius when anyone went on about their wealth, it reminded him too much of his family.

Shaking my head, I stood up and told my friends I wold meet them in the dormitory later on. I didn't even look at Sirius when I passed and headed out of the Great Hall. After wandering around for a while, I did end up in my dormitory and eventually decided to get ahead on my readings. But half-way through the first chapter I couldn't focus and eventually gave up on the book.

Maybe Sirius would dump this girl by the end of the week. Or maybe even by tomorrow. I mean, he never dated anyone for that long and Maddie was obviously awful. I'm sure he would realize this sooner rather than later.

That level of comfort allowed me to return to my reading which eventually put me to sleep. I didn't even hear the others come up for bed and didn't wake until early morning.

When I did wake up the next morning, I crept out of bed so not to wake the others and enjoyed the freedom of a long shower. While soaking in the hot shower, I couldn't help thinking of the idiotic nature of Sirius' new relationship and held onto the knowledge that it would probably soon be over. Maybe I could even talk to Sirius about it, and we could make amends. I figured I had been upset with him for long enough and just wanted things to go back to normal. The group of us had all been friends for so long, and it always seemed to come effortlessly, but I couldn't help but feel the tension between us lately. James and his group were more distant, and I couldn't help but think I was to blame. I didn't want us to drift apart. Especially in a time like this, friendship was everything and I didn't want something so trivial to wrench us all apart.

So, after I was dressed in my robes, I marched down the staircase and decidedly headed for the Great Hall where I would wait for Sirius and the others to join.

I stepped out of the portrait hole with determination but ended up bumping into someone standing right in the other side.

I picked myself up off the ground and tried not to grumble out loud as I brushed myself off.

"Where are you off to in a hurry?" I heard his familiar voice ask.

I smiled, despite my annoyance, at Sirius.

"I actually wanted to talk to you," I said casually.

"Really?" he asked mischievously.

I furrowed my brow but pressed on.

"Yes, I wanted to declare a truce…" I started but was cut off by a high-pitched squeal.

"Siri!" Maddie shouted as she skipped over and flung herself onto Sirius.

Siri? Who the hell called him that?

Unfortunately, at the last minute, he opened his arms for the unexpected gesture and caught her instead of letting her fall.

"Good morning Adeline," Maddie greeted in her too sweet voice.

"It's Addie," I replied bluntly.

She ignored me.

"I thought we were going to the kitchens alone," she whined as I turned my surprised stare onto Sirius.

It was a Marauder rule not to share trade secrets with girls.

I saw an unreadable expression cross Sirius' face before he broke into his own plastered smile.

"Of course, Maddie. I was just saying good morning to Addie was all," he said before he kissed Maddie right in front of me.

I was immediately uncomfortable and turned away. Without another word I walked off towards the Great Hall and didn't even turn around when I heard Sirius say my name. I was too angry.