"I can't believe you fucking did that," whispered Steven as he slid the compartment door closed. "What the hell. I thought you were too good for fights?" Her words.

"I was a stupid third year when I said that," Crimson rolled her eyes. She sat on the seat clutching her bloody knuckles. The pain she was feeling was reserved to her eyes as she regarded Steven with hesitance. "My uncle."

Steven's eyes widened as she lifted her fist. "Louis taught you how to fight?"

"No–I mean, I guess he kinda did," Crimson sighed. "I don't think that's what he was going for, though." Her blonde companion pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and started wiping away the blood on her hand. It was clear after a few swipes that most of it was Snape's. "Don't listen to Severus. He's a dick."

"Well, he's not completely wrong."

"Okay, but he shouldn't have called you that."

"You shouldn't have punched him."

"So this is my fault?"

"No–damn it, Rosie. You know what I'm trying to say!" Steven pulled back from her and leaned back on his heels. He looked out the window, refusing to meet her eyes. "There are always gonna be people who are gonna call me names. And it's true, I am a faggot. But, like, they could at least get it right."

"Steven…"

"I just wish there was a slur for just bisexual people. Like a proper slur so that we're not just lumped in with the gays that way all the homophobes have a way to distinguish between us."

"Don't say that!" Crimson suppressed laughter as she swiped at Steven. "Look, Severus is a creep. Everyone knows that. Nobody is gonna take what he said to heart, and if they do, I'll climb on the table in the Great Hall and declare my love for Marlene McKinnon. We'll be fags together."

"I knew you had a thing for her in the first year!"

"Shut up! She's cute."

Steven sat beside Crimson and rested his head on her shoulder. She placed her head on his and gripped his clasped hands with her injured hand. The two sat there as the train chugged along to the castle they know as a second home. Already this year was more exciting than the last one.

Crimson received three detentions for punching Severus Snape in the nose. It would have been less, but Snape whined endlessly to Slughorn about how his nose would never be perfect again and Crimson had to snap back.

"'I was just trying to help him out. You know, fix the size of it.'" Remus Lupin cackled. "My God, she's a genius, isn't she?"

"Balls the size of bloody Bludgers," James remarked, bringing his pumpkin juice up for a sip.

The entire castle was whispering about the fight on the Hogwarts Express. Some people claimed that Snape started the fight, while others say that Sirius was the one who threw the first punch. The next morning, when Snape arrived for breakfast, the entire Hall froze as they gleaned the damage done. Then the whispers picked up again, even louder.

"I just don't understand," Sirius said again, causing the boys to groan. They had heard that phrase nonstop since he pulled Crimson off of Snape. "Crimson doesn't do that. She just glares at you until you back off."

"Maybe you don't know her as well as you thought you did, mate," James said (again) to him. "From what you told me, Snivellus deserved it. She was just standing up for Stebbins."

"But why punch him?"

Peter looked at him pityingly. "Sirius, let it go." But the aforementioned boy refused to believe that he didn't know the girl who had been tormenting him all summer as well as he thought he did. Even as he looked at her two tables away, there was something different about her.

Crimson could feel his eyes on her and she just kept her head down. If she waited it out, he would look away. Steven noticed the moment he sat down something was bothering her. Her shoulders were bunched up by her chin and she was making an extra effort not to look up.

"Is he still looking over here?" She hissed when he asked what she was doing. "No! Don't look at him!"

"Then how am I supposed to know?" Steven questioned. He looked over his shoulder anyway and made eye contact with the boy.

"Just scoot to your left–I mean right. Yeah. Thanks." Crimson felt relief as Steven blocked Sirius's view. There was something searching about his gaze, and it made her uncomfortable.

"Maybe he needs more help on his project?" Steven said nonchalantly while piling pancakes on his plate.

"Class starts in fifteen, ya' know?"

"I'm a fast eater."

Crimson rolled her eyes. Maybe. But that didn't explain why he couldn't just ask her in class. He could at least man up and talk to her.

"The mystery of men is unknown to us all, Rosie."

She hated the nickname. It began in their first year when McGonagall had called her to the Sorting Hat by her full name ("Reeds, Crimson Rose!") and it gained momentum from there. It took an entire term to get teachers to call her just Crimson and Steven seemed to cling to the nickname.

"Why do you call me Rosie?"

"Why do we do anything? Because we can."

Crimson huffed. "That's not an answer." She hated non-answers.

"Maybe later." That was her line! How dare he steal her best lines. She was supposed to be the cryptic mysterious one, although after her run in with Snape she might be the erratic one now. Steven ignored her piercing stare and glanced at the piece of paper that was dropped in front of him.

Their timetables were awful. Crimson had already looked over hers and she was ready to fight whoever made hers. She didn't have Astronomy until Friday and the beginning of the week was loaded with her least favourite classes.

"Listen to this: Double Herbology with the Gryffindors first thing this morning, then tomorrow we have Double Potions with them again. Literally, any other house would have been better."

"Slytherins?" Steven made a face.

"Yes. I'd take Severus Snape over Sirius Black."

"Damn. That was uncalled for."

When Crimson Rose entered the greenhouse she was furious to see that the only pair of seats left were right by, none other than, Sirius Black. Steven had to drag her along the aisles of plants before she would sit down next to him.

"You're a dick," she whispered to Steven after he refused to sit next to Sirius for her.

"Aw, why do you hate me suddenly?" Sirius cooed at the girl. She was about to answer when he pulled out the pencil he still had from their third year and began writing aimlessly on his parchment. She bet he wasn't even writing anything useful, just trying to piss her off.

It was working too. "Why you–"

"Take this." Sirius ripped off the portion he had written on and shoved it in her hands. "I'll owe you another if you could get this for us. James did all he could during the summer."

"Fine."

Along with learning how to defend herself Crimson Rose also smoked weed for the first time this summer. A kid down the block offered her a hit off him when she passed him and, being the reckless teenager she was, Crimson accepted. The feeling of being high was so much different than she was used to feeling. It was like all her stressors and all that kept her to herself unravelled at once and was loose and free for the first time in her life. She wasn't worried about seeing her father again or seeing the ghosts of her childhood following her. Her world was quiet.

Naturally, when Sirius offered to do anything for her in exchange for these ingredients, the first thing she thought of was–

"Weed? You asked for weed?"

"What was I supposed to ask for?" She asked, distracted by her homework. Steven paced around the common room like a madman, his hands in his hair and his ears flaming red, but for another reason. (A cute Hufflepuff girl complimented him as she walked by.) "Books?"

"I mean hey that's not my first choice either, but weed? C'mon, you could've asked for something more communal."

"It's not my fault you didn't like smoking."

"I guess. Was firewhiskey not good enough for you?" Steven watched Crimson's face fall slightly at the mention of alcohol. He was quick to pick up her unwillingness to respond to him so he reassured her, "I'm messing with you, man."

Crimson tried to smile, but it felt unnatural and she gave up. Excusing herself for bed, Crimson shakily climbed the stairs leaving Steven with more questions about her than before.