It is Monday my dudes. Time to spice up this story!

Chapter twelve: Change of heart

On the next Saturday there was another Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw. All her Gryffindor friends had been driving Alicia mad with their rivalry. It just so happened that she knew three guys on the Gryffindor team (Harry, Fred and George) and everyone was using that against her. When she was in the Ravenclaw tower people were avoiding her because they thought she was a spy, and when she was with Gryffindor friends they were hoping that she would be a spy. In all truth, she couldn't care less.

But because Fred and George wouldn't leave her alone until she had agreed, she said she would go to the match. She was sitting at the breakfast table with her usual three friends, when Fred came up to them. He looked Alicia up and down and looked disappointed.

'No red and gold colours?' he asked, sounding like a sad puppy. Alicia rolled her eyes. 'Also no blue and bronze, as you might have noticed. I am not actively rooting for either team.'

'But you are our friend! That's the least you can do for a friend, right? Who do you know on the Ravenclaw team anyway?' Fred argued.

'Fred, you do realise I have to sleep in a dormitory in the Ravenclaw tower right? I will be thrown out if I wear red and gold. Now stop your moping and just be glad I'm coming. That is already an achievement.'

Michelle and the others giggled. 'That is very true. I think that her last match was in our fourth year, right? Last time you bothered to watch it?' Michelle said teasingly.

'Third year, actually. But I still have these nostalgic feelings about leaving the school so guess I can attend one more,' she said with feigned annoyance. 'And also because my friends are playing and I want to support them,' she added with a wink.

Fred seemed pleased with that. He ruffled her hair before striding away to the Gryffindor table. 'You should have gone on a valentine date with him,' Elena said, looking after the red-head, 'I bet he is an amazing boyfriend.'

Alicia chuckled and dared to look up at Michelle. The clever dark-haired girl was smiling back, but didn't portray any other emotions. 'I bet he will try to prank you constantly. Can you handle that, Elena?' Alicia teased. Elena blushed. 'I didn't mean for me, but for you. He clearly fancies you.'

Alicia rolled her eyes as she sipped her tea. 'I know. I read the valentine card he gave me.' The three girls were giving her expectant looks. 'Oh I'm not telling you guys! That is mean. Half the boys who send me those cards put all of their feelings in them! I felt pretty bad having to read them all, knowing I don't feel the same for them.'

Sophia sighed. 'You are the worst. Just pick a bloody boyfriend already! They won't be lining up for you forever, you know?'

Alicia just shook her head and laughed. She glanced quickly up at the head table, and noticed that Remus wasn't there. She wasn't too surprised because tonight was the full moon.

After breakfast they walked towards the Quidditch pitch. The snow was gone but it was still cold outside, definitely with the wind blowing steadily from the West. The hill they were descending was slippery and wet from the recent rain.

'Psst!'

Alicia looked up to see who had made the sound. To her left were a couple of trees and bushes. When she saw nobody she started to think she had imagined it, but then she saw someone moving. It was Remus. He stepped out between the bushes and looked directly at her. He looked shaken.

Alicia turned around and nearly groaned when she saw that her three friends had also seen and heard Remus. They were looking at him with curious expressions. Alicia exchanged a look with Michelle. 'You guys go on, I'll catch up,' she said to them.

At first they didn't move, but then Michelle urged them on. Alicia was a little annoyed by his blunt behaviour. She stepped up to him and they disappeared between the trees, making sure people couldn't see them. 'Since when are you this careless? I'm going to have to explain this to the girls. They were just starting to let me off the hook!' Alicia started, pinching the bridge of her nose to calm down.

'I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this, but I had to get to you before…argh…before you were in the arena,' Remus said. He sounded pained and out of breath. At once her irritation disappeared. She remembered he was going through a very rough day.

'What's going on?' she asked.

'I have a problem. I have no more of the wolfsbane potion. My body is reacting to it severely. I'm in much more pain than usual. Like a withdrawal,' he said between pants. He was leaning on a tree and she could see him shaking. Without thinking she placed a hand on his upper arms, wishing she could give him her strength.

'But Professor Snape makes those for you, right? I can go and get him-,'

'No, he isn't here. I just asked Professor Sprout. He is gone for the weekend and he hasn't left anything behind for me. Not even a note to tell me where he is off to. I guess this is his sense of humour.'

Alicia got angry. 'How could he?! He knows the consequences that has on you, right? What an ass-,'

'Yes I know. No time for that now. I need you for something else. I'm so sorry to ask you to do this, but I didn't see another option. How good are you with protective spells?' Remus asked.

A confused look came on her face. 'Pretty good. What am I protecting?'

'The Shrieking Shack. Because of the Wolfsbane potion, I've been able to control myself. But now I can't, so I might get out of the house. You can't let that happen. Make sure that when I get there tonight, there is no possible way for the wolf to get out.'

Alicia nodded. Remus looked in her eyes and saw the worry. 'I know you are afraid of running into Sirius. I'm so sorry about this. Maybe I can ask a teacher…'

She shook her head. 'No I will do it. You shouldn't involve more people in your secret. I'll be fine. You look like you can better stay in bed until tonight.'

He shook his head. 'No I'm going to look for Dumbledore. Maybe he knows how to contact Severus or has some potion himself. You can get to the Shack by a tunnel that starts under the Whomping Willow. Immobilize the tree and get in under the roots. That way you end up in the house. When you leave, make sure to block the entrance again. Alicia, I'm asking a lot. It could be dangerous. Please be careful.'

She cupped his face in her hands. 'Don't worry, I will be fine. Worry about yourself. And know that you can always ask me to help you. You are worth it.'

He looked touched. She could almost see his eyes watering before he looked down and took her hands to kiss them. 'What did I do to deserve you?' he whispered. She kissed him on the forehead and held him for a moment. 'Nothing, and everything. Just by being yourself.'

She released him and started moving away. 'Be careful Moony.'

'You too, Nessie.'

Her feet were planted in a wide stance and she was moving her weight from the one leg to the other. She kept twisting her wand around in her hand. Under her breath she was reciting useful spells. Her eyes were on her opponent.

The Whomping Willow was flailing it's branches around like a merry-go-round on drugs. Her first two attempts to attack the tree had only angered it. She knew how to immobilize a person, but it turned out this 20 feet tall murderous tree needed a bigger dose.

Alicia pushed off and ran over to the tree. It was already raising its entire body to crush her to the ground, but before it could swing down she yelled 'Immobulus!' for the third time. This time it seemed to work. She kept running towards the opening under the roots. There was an ominous cracking sound and the branches started moving again. Alicia screamed as she ran for her life. When the opening came up in front of her she jumped in. Mid-air she still felt a branch hit her in the back but it only pushed her forward.

The ground was hard and the impact hurt her badly. She groaned and clutched her back and bottom, who took the fall. 'We're doing this for Remus,' she reminded herself as she stood up and started walking down the dark tunnel. She conjured floating lights that followed her so she could see her surroundings. It was very moist and narrow. There were roots around the opening, probably from the Willow. She kept on going and felt the tunnel rising slowly after a long while. It made some twists and turns before she could see daylight at the end. It was a narrow opening into the hallway of a very rundown house. All the furniture was broken or ripped to pieces. She stepped out of the tunnel and into the hallway and dimmed the lights. The walls were so worn down that the sunlight was piercing through the spaces in-between the planks. Clouds of dust stirred as she walked through the house. She found a chair where large chunks had been torn out of and one leg was missing.

'Love what you've done with the place Moony,' she said sarcastically.

Then she heard a noise from above. She stiffened and held her wand out to the stairs leading to the floor above. She waited a minute, but nothing moved.

'It's just the house,' she whispered to herself, even though she didn't really believe that. She moved forward slowly. Upstairs was a door to what seemed like the bedroom. The door was ajar, showing her a part of the room. She could see the end of a large bed. Gathering all of her courage she stepped into the room and made a 360 turn to inspect her surroundings. When she saw no one, she relaxed.

'Guess it really just was the house.'

'Who are you?'

When she would tell this story later, she was going to leave out the part where she screamed like a frightened child. She whipped around to see that someone had been standing behind the door. Idiot! Letting your guard down before you inspected the entire room! The man closed the door and so blocked her way out.

'Don't play games with me witch! Who are you?' he demanded. She looked at his face and almost yelled again. His eyes were so sunken that he resembled a skeleton. His skin was stretched thin over his face and hair grew on his cheeks and chin in uneven tufts. There wasn't a doubt in her mind: this was Sirius Black.

Her first instinct was to raise her wand. She had a steady hand when she yelled at him to stay back. He stopped moving and held his hands up. 'Are you going to attack me?' he asked with a wicked grin. He was completely mad.

'I might. If you do anything,' she said with enough confidence. He gave her another questioning look. 'Seriously, who are you? I expected some people but not…well whoever you are.'

'I'm Alicia Doreen, and you are Sirius Black. The escapee the dementors are looking for,' she said. A part of her mind wondered where she got the courage from.

'Well Miss Doreen, then you know I can't let you walk away and tell anyone that you saw me,' he replied darkly. She tilted her head to the side and let her raised hand drop. 'Are you going to kill me?'

He seemed surprised by her calm tone. 'Well…I don't want to.'

'But you are a murderer.'

'So they say.'

'So they're wrong?'

He took a sharp intake of breath. 'Does it matter to you? I already threatened you. You can't talk your way out of this Missy.'

Alicia shrugged. 'I think I can.'

Without warning he jumped forward and grabbed her upper arms to pin them to her sides. In her shock she dropped her wand. He got right in her face and she could smell all the unpleasant places he had been. She wrinkled her nose and tried to turn her face away.

'Don't taunt me! I came here with an important mission and you will not stand in the way!' He spitted. Alicia's heart was thumping rapidly in her chest. All the hairs on her body were raised and she kept swallowing away the chunk in her throat. But despite all of that, she still had a chance. Maybe Remus was right. Maybe there was still a man behind this monster. He had said he didn't want to kill her.

'I have a job to do too. Let me do that and then we can discuss what you are going to do to me. But I have to do this first. It's important. People could die otherwise,' she said as she looked him in the eye. It took every bit of bravery in her to say this.

She saw his expression change from angry to surprised. His hold on her loosened and she brushed his hands away. 'Thank you,' she said before picking up her wand. She strode over to the door and held it up.

'Protego maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum.'

'What are you doing?'

'Shush. I'm concentrating.'

It was hard to perform the protection spells and prepare her next move towards Black. At some point she was going to stop and she had to think of what was best. She hoped that even if he was a Death Eater, he still cared about Remus. Maybe that could be enough to get herself out of here.

After ten minutes of repeating the protection spells around the room she was satisfied. She turned away from the window and faced Black once more. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her with a stunned expression. Alicia tried to supress the overwhelming fear she felt.

'You turned your back on me. I could have killed you easily,' he said with a hoarse voice.

She shrugged. 'But you didn't.'

'No. Why did you protect the room?'

'I'm asking the questions here. I could easily run out of this place and tell everyone where you are. I could even kill you right now. You might be strong but I'm good with spells. I am actually fighting the part of my head that wants you dead.'

Sirius made a low rumbling sound. After a moment she realised he was laughing. 'Well why are you fighting that part then?'

She sighed. Her breath came out unsteady. 'Because of a friend. I am going to ask you questions because he would want me too. Tell me the truth. Did you betray James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort?'

He was very still. She was trembling all over.

'No.'

She exhaled after what felt like forever.

'Did you kill those muggles?'

'No.'

'So you are not responsible for the crimes that you got charged with? It was a mistake?'

'It was a set up! Someone framed me. He did all of it, not me!'

Alicia dared to step closer to him. She could see his features better now. Somehow, he seemed less intimidating then he did earlier. 'Who did?'

'You wouldn't know him.'

'Try me.'

'Peter Pettigrew,' he said with so much venom in his voice that she thought he would spit acid. She gasped loudly and he looked up at her face. 'Your friend? Wormtail? He is the one who did it? But he died!'

If Sirius looked surprised before, he was beyond himself with shock now. 'Y-you know him? His nickname even? How!'

'I know everything I need to know. Sirius Black I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here. One more time, are you telling me the truth? Are you actually innocent?'

She was still holding her wand tightly in one hand. It felt so unnatural what she was doing. She thought of her friends; Michelle, Sophia, Elena, Harry, Ron Hermione…they would all have taken their chance to capture him and drag him out to the castle. It was because of this one person, who still believed he might be innocent, that she was doing this. After all, this person was the most important person to her right now.

Sirius seemed calm when he responded. 'I'm telling the truth. I'm innocent. I would never betray my best friend.' His voice broke off in a whisper towards the end. In that moment she decided to believe him. Still she remained careful.

'Okay Sirius. I'm believing you,' she told him. She tried to smile at him.

'You really are crazy, aren't you?' he said with what sounded like a joking attitude. She chuckled softly. 'Maybe a little. But all the best people are, I always say.'

She sat down on the bed next to him and turned to face him. 'This isn't easy for me. I've been wondering for a while now what I would do if I ran into you. In the beginning I would have dragged your stunned ass to the dementors. But then someone told me about the Marauders. The stories about their time at Hogwarts. The stupid nicknames you came up with. I don't think I believed him straight away when he suspected something was wrong about the story how you got arrested. But now…well I had to try.'

He looked thoughtful. 'Some person that was. I can tell you I'm innocent but I can't prove it to you. Not yet anyway.'

She frowned. 'Prove? Is that why you came to Hogwarts, even though it's crowded with dementors?'

His eyes were moving all over the place. 'I'm here because of Peter. I know he is in the castle. I am here to kill him.'

Alicia's eyes bulged. 'Peter is here? But we would have noticed…' she concentrated for a moment and then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She stared back at Sirius. 'He is a rat! That is how he is hiding, right?'

Sirius just nodded.

'So you are not here to hurt Harry?' she asked next.

Sirius became uneasy. He rubbed the back of his neck. 'I don't know what to do with James' son. I have been following him for a while and I think he sees me as a Grim, a bad omen. I didn't mean to frighten him but…I just wish I could talk to him. Explain everything. I am still…his godfather.'

Alicia nodded and sighed. 'Well that is actually a big relief. Part of me thought you were still here to kill Harry, the other thought you were here for Moony.'

Sirius looked astounded. His eyes were big and fixed on the younger witch. 'Moony? Remus is here? I didn't-,' he stopped as tears welled in his eyes. He closed them firmly and shook his head. 'Moony is alive. Moony is here. I can't believe it.'

Alicia pitied him. She extended a hand towards him slowly. He looked at her hand like it was an animal that would bite him. Carefully she placed it on his shoulder. He flinched at the touch. Clearly it had been a while since he was touched. 'Yes. Moony is here. He is a teacher now. He is the one who told me everything. And a part of him is still ready to believe that you are innocent. If you tell him what you told me, I'm sure he will believe you.'

'A teacher? Ha! I can actually see that happening. Tell me, is he strict or does he joke around?'

His sudden happy outburst startled her a bit, but she liked this better than the grim figure. 'A bit of both, but definitely still a joker.'

'That's the Moony I…' he looked back at her. 'He is your teacher?'

'Yes. I'm a seventh year Ravenclaw.'

He raised an eyebrow. 'And does he tell all the seventh years about his nickname and his acquaintance with a wanted criminal?'

Alicia felt herself blush. 'Uhm no. Just me.'

Sirius reached out to grab a strand of her blonde hair. He carefully ran his dirty fingers through it as if to examine her hair. She tried not to flinch. 'And what makes you special?'

She felt her cheeks burn and was unable to meet his eye. 'Uhm…well…'

Sirius stared at her odd behaviour and figured it out for himself. He made such an unexpected sound that she jumped back. He was laughing again, but he seemed alienated to it. It came out as a hoarse rush of wind. But he was also clapping his hands together and rolling on his back in the bed.

'That dirty old dog! He is shagging his student! Ha ha! Now that is the Moony I remember! I am so proud of him!'

Alicia sighed but was still blushing. 'Alright that's enough.'

He sat up very suddenly and pointed a finger in her face. 'You should watch your tone with me girl. I'm still dangerous.'

She rolled her eyes. 'If you are still like the Sirius from the past, then Remus described you as charming, egocentric and having a tough act but being a softie inside. It was hard to believe at first but now I'm starting to see it.'

He looked annoyed and amused at the same time. 'Damn it Moony.'

They both laughed for a moment, and Alicia started to relax more. She realised how cold it was in here. Alicia stood up to get some leftover candle stumps from around the room and lit them in between them. She let them float around to create a warm area around the two. Then she sat down, legs crossed.

'So, if you don't mind…would you tell me your story?' she asked.

Sirius blinked. 'You don't have anywhere to be?'

She chuckled. 'I never cared about Quidditch much. Some friends will be upset I missed it but I'll get a recap. And anyway, you are the most interesting person right now.'

He grasped dramatically at his chest. 'Don't care about Quidditch? You are a good match for Moony! He often missed our games too. Well, alright then. I might as well tell someone the truth.'

Alicia settled down to listen to a long and painful story.