A/N: Sorry about the forever and a half it took me to update. The homework was a massacre last week and I got New Moon by Stepehenie Meyer and had to read that, got it at 4 Friday, had it finished by 1 on Saturday. Oh, and I had my headshots for theatre on Saturday, so, I was busy, let's move along, shall we?

Disclaimer: Yeah, all the characters are JK Rowlings except the ones you don't recognize.

P.S. this chapter has a tendency to skip around a lot.

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"What do you want!" asked Claire angrily, trudging past Sirius with a look of pure malice across her face. Her voice, seething with rage.

"Why won't you listen to me?" asked Sirius, equally angry.

"You're telling me that my boyfriend, who I have been dating for two weeks now, is cheating on me!" she shouted. Everyone on the grounds was staring at her. It was almost the end of January, and the snow was beginning to melt. The contrast between the red of Claire's Gryffindor scarf, and the angry red of her face was comical. "Because he is!" Sirius shouted back at her.

"Sirius Black, leave me the hell alone, I hate you!" she yelled. She grabbed her Transfiguration textbook and threw it at him with enough force to sent him to the emergency room if he were a muggle. He dodged the book though, it falling into the snow. She picked it up, fuming. Then, she yanked out her wand and conjured a nice bat-bogey hex. She smiled to herself as she trudged away and Sirius was screaming.

Earlier that Week

Sirius was walking through the halls, minding his own business, completely after hours, when he noticed a very strange thing on the Marauders' Map. The dot labeled Jack Rowans was in an unused classroom with another dot named Camille Lawson. Okay, where did this player draw the line? Sirius noticed that the two dots were far too close for his comfort on the map, and it aggravated him. He ran up the corridors, the invisibility cloak flapping dangerously around his ankles. He opened the door to the deserted classroom, forgetting for a moment that he was invisible. Jack was not wearing a shirt, his perfectly toned and muscled chest was bare. Camille was not wearing a shirt either, but her bra was still on. Camille was a year younger than them, and not really exceptionally beautiful like Claire was. Camille was backed up against a wall, her lips had been pinned to Jack's seconds ago, and Jack's hands were on the wall on either side of her head, leaning close to her as he looked out the now open door. Sirius slapped himself internally for that thought. She had sandy hair that came to her shoulders in little curling ringlets. She wasn't very tan, and she had a lot of freckles on her face. She was definitely developed for fifteen though. Sirius stared at them, and they stared through him, thinking it was just some random thing in this very random castle where random doors open randomly. Sirius wanted to shout at them, to scream, to take a picture to prove it to Claire. Would she believe him? Probably not. When Jack had ascertained that no one was in the room, he walked over and shut the door again and the two continued their snog-fest.

For some reason that Sirius couldn't grasp, he wanted to kill Jack, at that moment, and nothing was ever changing that. He stalked off to the common room, throwing the cloak onto the couch. James gave him a questioning look. Sirius pulled the Marauders' Map from his pocket and threw it to James, a meaningful look on his face.

"Merlin's beard!" James said, trying to say it too loudly. The girls had fallen asleep on the chairs and James didn't want to wake them, least of all Claire. "Padfoot, this is getting out of hand. You've checked the map every night for the past week and he's been in that same classroom with a different girl each day. You have to do something, I know how you feel about Claire – "

"I don't feel anything about Claire!" Sirius snapped. James pursed his lips in disbelief. "Look, I just don't want her getting hurt. I bet these other girls don't even know. Some of them are young too. He was with a fifth year today. This was the first time I actually saw what they were doing." James didn't miss the changes in Sirius tone from pissed, to sad, to angry, to pure rage, and finally, disturbed.

"I think you should say something to Claire," James said more sternly.

"She'll bite my head off and you know it!" Sirius snapped. "She refuses to believe bad in anyone but us two and Remus, and I can't understand why. I'm a way better guy for her than that…" Sirius trailed off, he was getting too close to dangerous territory.

"Yeah, she will. But she'll bite your head off less when she's heartbroken and finds out that you kept something from her, something this huge," advised James. Sirius thought it over for a second and decided it would be best to tell her.

Earlier that day (The day Claire said she hated Sirius and they got in a fight, not the day Sirius saw Jack cheating on Claire.)

"Claire, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Sirius softly, sitting down across from Claire at the table in the library.

"Why, after all, guys only want me for my ass," she said acidly. Sirius immediately regretted saying that to her.

"No, please, this is serious," replied Sirius. Claire saw something in Sirius's eyes that was different, softer and kinder, a note of pure and undeniable sincerity and concern.

"Alright," she sighed, not being able to turn down those gorgeous gray eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you about Jack, the guy you're dating, or have been dating for a week or so now."

"Two weeks," she corrected. She had a slight hunch as to where this was going, and she didn't like that idea.

"Whatever," muttered Sirius. "I wanted to know how much you know about the guy?" he asked, suddenly very interested in her answer.

"Well…" she trailed off. Sirius looked at her triumphantly. "Okay, so we don't talk much, so what? You never talk to the girls you date. We mostly spend our time telling each other how beautiful the other one is, and kissing. I mean, he's a really nice guy if you knew him." Her cheeks were red, and Sirius knew he had hit a soft spot.

"How many girls has he done that with before?" asked Sirius, still and interested look on his face. Claire's eyes immediately narrowed, barely enough for Sirius to notice.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just wondering," said Sirius, looking at his hands that were twining themselves around each other on top of the table.

"It's none of your business," she snapped.

"An estimate?" asked Sirius, still not looking up at her. He was remaining cool very well.

"Probably about twenty different ones just this year," she said, her eyes still narrowed.

"Has he told you he loves you?" asked Sirius, still looking at his hands. Claire's eyes narrowed even more, if she had had the dagger-eyes of Lily, Sirius was afraid he would have melted into a puddle on the ground by now.

"Yes," she said suspiciously, softly. Sirius smiled internally, he didn't like what Claire would have to be put through, but he was glad this was going as he wanted it too, she hadn't lost her temper yet.

"Claire," began Sirius, looking up into her eyes again. Those deceptively communicative eyes, why was Claire's stomach churning that way? Emotions were playing across his face faster than cards were played in a game of Slap Jack. Claire wanted to reach across the table and hit him for being so horrible, waiting until she got into a great relationship and then becoming hotter than usual, becoming a caring person. More than the urge to hit him though, was a strange impulse she didn't understand to lean forward and to kiss him. Little did she know that Sirius was experiencing the exact same impulse.

"Claire," he said her name again. "I…I think Jack is cheating on you." Claire waited a second for the "just kidding" but it didn't come. Then, she waited for the punch line, but that didn't come either. Something felt like it was pressing hard against her chest, crushing her to herself. She wanted to scream in the room, because she'd been feeling like he was cheating too, but too afraid to admit that a guy would actually cheat on her. He had come to see her everyday, a different and female scent clinging to his clothes, small traces of red or pink around the corners of his mouth. Once she even wiped off a smear of lipstick from his shirt collar. She knew he had been cheating, but she was not going to admit it, and the fact that Sirius knew, made her mad at him too.

"Sirius Black!" She screamed. Madam Pince came around the corner then, and slapped a detention into their hands for disturbing everyone. She pointed to the door of the library and had a stern countenance. Claire stood up angrily, slinging her backpack across her shoulder and leaving the room, rushing and flushing. This was the maddest Claire had ever been seen by anyone but Tanya and Lily. Sirius struggled to keep up with her as she stormed out onto the snowy grounds. They were screaming at each other now.

Later On

Lily and James had told their friends of their little charade because they had begun to overhear threats from the others about locking the two in a room in order to sort our their childish problems. They had no choice truly. Claire and Sirius were different. It wasn't the usual ignoring thing that they did. Claire stared at Sirius like he was virus floating in front of her all of the time. Something taking up too much space that no one wanted around. Sirius looked back at her with those eyes again and just made her hate him more. She was constantly wondering when his eyes had changed from the cocky, beady things normally embedded in his sockets, to these beautiful and deep irises. Everytime she thought that, she kicked herself internally. Claire had continued to see Jack, despite the protests of all of her friends. She was slowly becoming depressed, and she wasn't realizing it. Self-destructive habits were ruling her daily life now. She would go swimming in the lake some days, as cold as it was. She would return with a big and hateful scowl on her face as though disappointed that it didn't solve her problems. Her grades were steadily declining and the professors were wondering if there had been a death in her family. She never spoke to anyone anymore, except for Lily. She refused to even speak to Tanya, because, as far as she was concerned, Tanya had dated Sirius once and was part of the problem.

"I can't stand this anymore!" Lily yelled, slamming her fist on the Great Hall table as everyone turned to look at her. It was Sunday, exactly one week after the argument between Sirius and Claire. Claire and Sirius had served their detention, Sirius not speaking, and Claire only glaring. No one was used to Lily having an outburst, but it seemed like this year was molding her into a different person. Claire hadn't been talking to anyone. Her averages in every class had dropped noticeably. She was moping around everywhere and she never smiled that outgoing and beautiful smile that used to light up rooms. Lily looked between Claire and Sirius, seeing no resolve in either of their eyes. She grabbed her bag and threw it over her should with almost as much anger as Claire had a week previously when she left the library. Lily stormed out of the Great Hall muttering the only words she knew in German and was sure that the teachers wouldn't understand: strings of profanities. Dumbledore had a bemused expression while watching them, he always did. Nothing ever made Dumbledore angry. Claire looked after Lily, trying to hold herself together. Was she really being that difficult to live with? Was she really worrying her friends. All of the sudden, Claire felt the tears in the corner of her eyes, and even that made her mad. She was slowly going insane, and she really didn't care anymore. She didn't care because she couldn't stop it now. She sent an owl to her older brother that night.

Lily and Claire had never had a falling out before, and they had vowed never to be like this, but it seemed impossible, Claire wouldn't talk to Lily and Lily wouldn't talk to Claire and Tanya was stuck in the middle of it all. Sirius and Claire still hated each other (actually, it was more Claire hating Sirius). Sirius felt bad, and wished he had never said anything to Claire now, which made him mad at James. So, James and Sirius were no longer talking and Remus was the sandwiched one here. No one seemed to have any sense anymore. Claire had begun to act differently. Lily noticed first, and then Sirius. She was starting to smile again, but it was an agonized smile. That was when Lily decided to search Claire's room one night. She pulled up a loose floorboard and saw cases upon cases of firewhiskey. A not from her brother was lying next to them all.

Claire,

Tell Professor Slughorn I say hi. He was right to have you owl me for some free liquor. I can't wait to see you soon. Love you and until summer. I'll try and get you before Mum and Dad can, but I can't make any promises.

Eric

Lily had never met Eric, but he seemed just as careless as Claire had begun to act. He seemed just as much of a risk-taker as Claire had always been, and he seemed like a really nice guy too. It hit Lily that this wasn't meant for Slughorn. Claire had lied to her brother; she got this for herself. Claire was happy again because she was getting drunk. Lily grabbed one of the cases and the note and bolted into the common room. Claire was never around them anymore. She was always spending every waking minute with Jack. Lily thrust the firewhiskey into Sirius's hands and then held the note in front of his face. Sirius read the note quickly and with great precision.

"That stupid bitch, she's going to get herself killed and heartbroken all in one step!" yelled Sirius, throwing the case of firewhiskey onto the ground where it shattered and seeped into the carpet, eight of the bottles wasted now. Lily had tears streaming down her face. She knew Claire too well to get drunk and not do something stupid. She knew that if Claire was drunk and she was with Jack, something could end up stepping over lines. An idea burst into Sirius's head at that moment.

"Prongs, take this and find all of the girls we've seen with Rowans. Lily, meet us here in a few minutes. Sirius pointed to an unused classroom on a regular map of the school in his book. Lily nodded, running back upstairs to smash the rest of the bottles. About five minutes and a lot of sparks later, every bottle was smashed to bits. Claire, though, was already drunk right now. Lily ran to the classroom Sirius had pointed out. She skidded to a halt in front of it. Sirius was yelling at a very bloodied up Rowans while Claire was screaming at Sirius, but no sound was coming from her mouth because Sirius had silenced her.

Lily watched through the door. Claire was definitely drunk. She was swaying slightly just standing there and her eyes were incredibly bloodshot and weary-looking. Sirius opened the door and push Jack out into the hallway, shaking his head at Lily to tell her he wasn't ready for her to come in yet. Claire was wearing next to nothing. Sure, she had on her usual long-sleeved shirt, but it was the most low cut shirt she had ever worn, not only that, but it was showing far too much of her stomach than necessary. Lily was surprised she couldn't see Claire's bra. It also seemed like she had rolled her skirt. Claire's underwear was showing for the whole world to see. Sirius waved his wand and Claire could speak again.

"What d'you do with my boyfriend?" she groaned, a note of giggling slurring her words. Sirius shook his head at her. She looked at him her expression changed. She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I hate you, ya know dat, right?" she asked, her speech getting worse by the minute, She was giggling hysterically, and Sirius wasn't even smiling.

"Claire, what do you think you're doing, everyone's worried about you," Sirius pressed, trying to puch Claire off of him, but she was strong and she held tight.

"Ha!" she yelled loudly. "No one cares about me," she laughed again.

"We all care, Claire," Sirius pressed.

"No you don," she tried to pronounce, still laughing and sounding very buoyant. Lily wondered just how much Claire had drunk. "You hate me, Sirius Black, and I know it!" she said, stressing certain words and backing away, poking him hard in the chest. "You accused Jack of cheatin on me!"

"He is cheating on you!" yelled Sirius now.

"I know," she said softly. Sirius looked at her with questioning eyes. He didn't want Claire to know that.

"What?" he asked.

"I didn't say nothing!" she replied angrily, poking him again.

"Tell me what you said!" shouted Sirius. He grabbed her arms and shook her lightly, as though that would detoxify her. She threw his arms off of her and smacked him hard across the face. Sirius staggered backwards for a few seconds and then walked back up to Claire, wrapping his muscled arms around her in a kind and soft hug. Lily watched in awe. Claire had begun crying, her face buried in Sirius's shoulder. She didn't wrap her arms around him though, but stood there, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. When Sirius let go, Claire stumbled backwards, her feet tripping over themselves and toppled over a desk behind her. She almost fell, but Sirius saw it coming and caught her before her head hit the tile.

"I…knew…he was…cheating," she said, struggling to frame the words correctly. "I…knew." Her excessive make up was running down her face as it blended with the tears. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked miserable. She probably was miserable. Then, without warning, she passed out, Sirius catching her before she hit the floor once more.

Meanwhile

James, Remus, and Tanya were leading a pack of very pretty girls to a certain classroom a few halls down from where Lily and Sirius were. They opened the door and every girl said the same thing.

"Hi, honey!" came the chorus of female voices. And then, each girl turned to one another.

"How do you know him?"

"Why did you call him honey?"

"You bitch!"

"Hey!" came James's voice. All the girls turned to him. "You've all been victims here, ladies, and I suggest your anger be taken out on the person who hurt you, and that would be him." James pointed to a very scared, and already bruised, Jack sitting on one of the desks. As soon as all the girls turned furious eyes on him, he froze in fear. Every girl ran at him as James, Tanya, Remus left, trying not to laugh. A guy like that, who cheated on every girl in the stupid school, deserved a fate like that, a fate far worse than death.

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A/N: Aww, Claire's being an idiot! We should so yell at her. Alrighty, I'll try to update by tomorrow, okay guys? If not, check during the week.