CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

It had been four weeks. Four very long weeks, and Jane had kept mostly to herself. The boys left her well enough alone; she had made it pretty clear that no amount of begging and apologising was going to make her forgive them any faster. The anger had to run its course this time.

Jane didn't know how to feel. They were her friends, but they had blatantly kept something from her. The fact that all of the boys knew about Remus but she hadn't had been a major slap in the face to her. The fact that Remus actually thought she would judge him for it had really hurt her. Did he not know her better than that? Did he have that low of an opinion of her?

Then, there was Sirius. Words couldn't describe how mad Jane was at him. He had completely invaded her privacy; he had destroyed her trust. It was like finding out that one of your friends had gone through your diary without your permission.

Then, there was Peter. Even after the whole fiasco in the Forbidden Forest, Jane had had to practically threaten him before he told her anything, and that pissed her off royally because by that point, she had had a right to know what was going on.

And of course, there was James. Her teammate, her mentor, the brother that she never had. He had hidden things from her, and lied to her in the process by pretending that everything was normal. And this had gone on for two years now. Why the hell had they kept it a secret for this long? Had they ever been planning on letting her know at some point? And why did they get to keep things from her when she was expected to tell them everything? It wasn't fair.

Quidditch practice was the worst. Jane actively avoided James and Sirius. The whole team felt the tension between the friends. The locker room had never been so quiet. And it affected their game strategies too. Well, it didn't affect Sirius so much as it affected the "J-Team."

"Come on, Jane! James was wide open!" Will yelled as they practised. "Jarod had a person right behind him! Why'd you throw it to him?"

"I didn't see him!" Jane yelled back. "He never said anything!"

"We need to communicate!" Will yelled back at them. "Let each other know where you're at! Now, go again!"

Jane shot a look at James and flew back to position. She was trying to put her feelings behind her for the sake of the team, but it was just so hard. She was still so mad at him.

The Quaffle started with James, then it went to Jarod, over to Jane, back to Jarod. They seemed to be working effectively enough, weaving and bobbing in and out of the alternates. Then, Jarod threw the ball up the pitch. James and Jane both raced after it. Jane heard very faintly James' call of "I got it!" but she was practically there already. As Jane's fingertips brushed the ball, James collided with her, and to the ground they fell.

Will and Jarod touched down next to them. Will helped Jane up from the ground, and she turned on James.

"Why didn't you back down? I had it!" she yelled.

"I called it!" James shot back.

"But I was already there!"

"Both of you need to shut up!" Jarod yelled. "We have a game next week, and you two are playing like you've never flown a broomstick!"

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Will asked.

James brushed the dirt from his practice robes.

"Nothing. It won't happen again," he mumbled.

"You're right; it won't because both of you are done with practice for today," Will said.

"Will!"

"I'm sorry, Jane, but you two need to sort out whatever the hell it is that's wrong between you," Will said. "The past five practices have been like this. No one else can practise properly if I have to yell at you two every three seconds!"

"But—"

"No," Will said, stopping James, "you two are finished with practice for today. Our next practice is on Tuesday. You both have two options. Either work everything out and play like you used to, or I'm pulling one of you from the game and subbing you with Jacobs. Do I make myself clear?"

Jane just picked up her broomstick and stormed off the pitch. Had she really just gotten kicked out of practice? When she got into the locker room, she threw her broomstick to the ground, James following closely behind her.

"I called that pass," James said, ripping off one of his gloves.

"You called it way too late! I was right on top of it!" Jane yelled at him.

"It's been almost a month, Jane!" James yelled back. "When are you gonna get over it?"

"It has been a month, hasn't it?" Jane said, feigning thoughtfulness. "Next full moon's tomorrow night, isn't it? You should really be resting up."

"Would you give it a rest? We're all sorry! We've all apologised! What more do you want from us?" James asked in an exasperated voice.

"Well, right now, it'd be nice if you could quit being an arse," Jane said.

"I'm being an arse? Well, that's the cauldron calling the kettle black!" James yelled. "We did what you wanted! We gave you your space, and you're still mad at us!"

"What'd you think was going to happen? That I'd forgive you within the first week and things would magically go back to the way they used to be? You must be daft!" Jane said, starting to unlace her Quidditch boots. "You guys kept something from me, and that really hurt me. I feel like I can't trust any of you anymore!"

"Yeah, what we did was wrong and stupid, and we should've told you. But we can't go back in time and change the fact that we didn't. You need to at least try and forgive us because Remus thinks you hate him; Peter thinks you're gonna hex him if he gets too close to you. And Sirius and I don't know what to do. It's not like we can try to get on your good side because you refuse to talk to any of us!"

"I said I'd forgive you, and I will, just not right now," Jane replied.

"When?" James asked, throwing his hands up in an exasperated way. "The past month has felt like a lifetime, and you just keep mulling it over in your head and getting angrier about it every day! You're never gonna forgive us if you don't get over it!"

"I can't get over it. All of you knew, not just one of you, all of you. And he didn't let me know. Now, I'm sure you don't know how it feels to be left out of something because you're Mr. Popularity and everyone loves you, but it sucks, and it hurts."

"Merlin! You're so infuriating to talk you! Jane Hensworth: always the victim; can't let go of anything! If this is how you act at home, it's no wonder why your father doesn't talk to you!"

The words were out of James' mouth before he could stop them. And he wanted nothing more than to grab them and shove them right back down his throat. He hadn't meant it at all. He was just angry. Angry at her because she wasn't talking to him. Angry at himself for screwing everything up so bad.

Jane just stood there for a second. She wasn't sure what to do. She'd expect Sirius to say something like that, but James? Without saying a word, she grabbed her things and walked out of the locker room. She ran into Jarod.

"So, have you two made up yet?" he asked.

Jane pushed past him.

"Holly can have my spot. Tell Will that I quit."

It didn't take long for Jane to find herself on the top of the Astronomy tower again, leaning against the parapet and looking out at the grounds.

"You're not an easy person to find."

Jane turned to see Will.

"How'd you find me then?"

"Black said you like to come up here sometimes," Will answered, walking over to stand next to her.

Jane didn't say anything. She just continued to look out over the grounds.

"You can't quit the team," Will said.

Jane let out a small laugh and shook her head.

"I don't think that James and I are a very effective team anymore."

"You two used to be best friends; what happened?" Will asked.

"It's a long story that I don't feel like getting into, and couldn't even if I wanted to," Jane said.

"Fair enough, but you still can't quit. I really like you."

Jane raised her brows and looked at him.

"The whole team likes you," he added hastily. "You're a great Chaser."

"I just—I can't be near him without being angry. Him or Sirius."

"Not even for the sake of the team?" Will asked desperately.

"I've tried," Jane said. "I just can't. Your best chance is to just put Holly in."

"I don't wanna put Holly in. I want my Chasers to get along," Will said.

"I just—"

"Please, Jane. I'm not saying that you have to forgive him for whatever the hell he did, but could you at least just tolerate each other on the field? It's my first year as captain. I can't have my team falling apart."

Jane looked at him and sighed. She was being selfish, and she knew it. She was putting herself and her feelings before the team, and that wasn't fair to them. It especially wasn't fair to Will because he was a great captain, and he was working really hard to keep his team together.

"I guess I'll see you at practice Tuesday," Jane said finally, and Will grinned.

He picked her up and spun her around excitedly. Jane laughed as he put her back down.

"Thank you!" Will said, still grinning, and Jane couldn't help but smile back at him.