Sharing quiet moments with Lily were a rarity these days. When she wasn't occupied with Head Girl duties, I was undergoing gruelling quidditch practices as our upcoming game against Hufflepuff approached rapidly. James had us doing drills nearly every night, taking his new responsibility as captain very seriously (He'd make our recently graduated ex-captain Harvey Fletcher proud). We were also forced to keep up with the insane study workload dumped on us as NEWT students. Therefore, Lily and I decided we should take a break to rest and relax one evening – to which I agreed immediately.

We took a walk near the Great Lake with Marlene and Mary, and now settled back in the common room after we had exhausted all the interesting current conversational topics humming around the school.

Lily and I were playing our third chess game to determine the ultimate winner – we had won a game each.

A great huff and clamour directed our attention to the portrait hole. James had just entered, looking exhausted and slightly annoyed.

"Gosh it's hard being the ruler of this school sometimes," he moaned, plonking down in a chair between Lily and I, examining the chess board in front of us.

"James," Lily began in the tone of speaking to a child or a halfwit, "you're not the ruler of this school. We're merely the authority above the Prefects and have extra duties in assisting the school."

"Is that what they told you Lily flower?" James winked casually at her with a grin.

"What kept you this long O mighty ruler of Hogwarts?" I cut in as Lily opened her mouth to no doubt retort at James' nickname for her.

James heaved a great sigh before answering, "had to deal with a couple of Ravenclaws who managed to make it snow in the dungeons."

"Really?" Lily raised an eyebrow, "what did you do?"

"Sent them straight to Flitwick. After making them clear it up of course. Best to let their own Head of House deal with them." He stretched lazily.

"Oh." Lily looked astonished. "How… How mature of you."

"Always, Lily flower," James said airily, before leaning towards me conspiratorially and mock-whispering in a loud voice, "I still thought it was bloody brilliant of course. And I may have accidentally charmed a few snowballs to land on the back of Thaddeus' head before I made the Ravens clear it off."

I laughed out loud and James grinned. We both turned to Lily in order to gauge her reaction, only to be completely surprised to see her lips twitching into a smile.

James' grin widened but he miraculously kept his mouth shut, only ruffling his messy black hair before leaving us to find the rest of the boys.

"Hah! Check mate!"

"Wha-?" Lily snapped out of a reverie and looked down to see my queen smash her king off the board.

I smirked as we cleared up the game, I never would have won that easily if she hadn't been preoccupied with following James with her eyes.

Sirius POV

"I know we've been doing this for a while now, but I still get nervous before every game!" Bella confessed as we walked out of the Gryffindor tent and onto the pitch.

"What's with the defeatist attitude Bella?!" James, who had been striding ahead of us and obviously listening in, cut in before I could say anything, "We are going to pummel the puffs. Think of all the things you despise about Hufflepuff and channel that – like Roger Lee for example-"

"He's a Gryffindor!" She cried indignantly.

"Really?" James looked baffled. "…How?"

"How could you not know that?! And I don't despise him you great git!"

"He's pulling your leg Bells," I put in, trying to suppress a laugh, "don't let a great git like him get to you."

She huffed with her arms crossed, muttering at the back of James' head. I grinned down at her fondly until she looked up.

"You're going to be great as per usual," I said as we mounted our brooms, "just imagine the Quaffle is James' head and the hoops are Slughorn's ars-"

"I can hear you!"

The whistle blew and we all kicked off, soaring high into the air as the game began.

Despite James and Bella's bickering, they worked seamlessly together as Chasers, probably from years of practice together since childhood. They were both so good and practically could read each other's minds during quidditch games that a third Chaser was rendered nearly useless, though Cheryl Johnson was darn good too.

Within the first half hour of the game, we were up 80-20.

I looked across at Nic Sawyer – the other beater, who was spending most of the game covering our keeper, Ewan McIntyre. The Hufflepuff's strategy this game was to wack the bludgers toward the keeper when they were close to scoring, making it impossible for him to defend the goals. Clever bastards.

I smacked away a bludger aimed for Johnson, sending it hurtling towards the Hufflepuff seeker, who seemed to have caught sight of the snitch in the distance.

He was so disconcerted by the bludger that he nearly toppled off his broom while lurching forward to avoid it, he lost sight of the snitch and gazed around wildly, cursing.

"Nice one Black!" Sawyer yelled, as James threw in another goal for Gryffindor, high fiving Bella as the stands erupted in cheers from our house and a decent number of the Ravenclaws as well, though the Slytherins looked rather sour.

"THE SCORE IS NOW 90-20," the commentator boomed, "THE GRYFFINDOR CHASERS CERTAINLY HAVEN'T LOST ANY SKILL OVER THE SUMMER, WHAT A TERRIFIC PERFOR- WAIT! COULD IT BE? YES, THE SEEKERS HAVE SEEN THE SNITCH! DOUGLAS AND MCARTHUR – WHO WAS ALMOST UNSEATED BY THAT BLUDGER ONLY A FEW MOMENTS AGO – LOOK AT THEM HURTLING TOWARDS THE TEACHERS STAND!

"COME ON DOUGLAS!" I yelled.

"HE'S DONE IT!" The cheer that rose from the stands was deafening. "CORBAN DOUGLAS HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH LADIES AND GENTLEMAN. GRYFFINDOR HAVE COOKED AND SERVED HUFFLEPUFF FOR BREAKFAST, 140-20 – WHAT A PATHETIC SCOR-"

There was a loud buzz as the microphone was snatched from the commentator, as laughter echoed from the stands.

We touched down and shook the Hufflepuff's hands good naturedly before embracing each other.

James looked as though he'd just battled a Hippogriff and won.

"We did it!" Bella ran up and threw herself onto me in a warm hug.

"Told you you'd be great" I grinned and ruffled her hair, "you scored 5 of those 9 goals miss nervous."

She ducked her head in that adorable way, "obviously James and Cheryl were there, I couldn't have done it on my own."

James came up from behind her and plucked her out of my arms, grabbing her round the waist from behind and lifting her up into the air, cackling as she protested. "YOU DID IT BELLA, YOU CHANNELLED YOUR ANGER TOWARDS THAT PUFF-"

I laughed along with the rest of the team as Bella wriggled out of his grasp and turned around to accost him.

We chatted excitedly about our favourite moments of the game as walked toward the change rooms.

I was at the back of the group and saw some movement in my peripheral vision.

Turning, I saw at a distance, within a throng of trees on the way up to the castle, Thaddeus and his cronies cornering Regulus, who was being help up against a tree by the collar by Thaddeus, as they seemed to be shouting in his face.

Without a second thought, I charged up to them blindly.

Thaddeus was the first to see me running, but he turned around too late. I punched him square in the jaw and he immediately let go of Reg and stumbled back, clutching his face.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I roared.

The rest of the Slytherin's began to draw their wands, I internally cursed as my wand was in the change rooms. I quickly rushed forward to dig into Regulus' pocket and retrieve his wand.

"Protego," I deflected the curse just in time, the force of it so strong that it shot back at the boy who cast it, and he immediately crumpled to the ground, unable to move his legs.

I shot a bat-bogey hex at Thaddeus, who had just begun to get up and barrel towards me. He screamed and fell back, grabbing at his face again as green slimy bats began to fly out of his nose.

He and the rest of the Slytherins scrambled away back to the castle, bats flying in their wake.

I was panting, staring menacingly after them.

"Give me my wand back." I heard Regulus say coldly.

I turned around immediately, "what's going on Reg? What they hell were they doing to you?"

"DON'T CALL ME REG! AND GIVE ME MY WAND BACK!"

"Geez! That's a shocking way to say thank you!"

"I didn't need your help!" Regulus spat.

"Oh yeah? Sure looked like it when they were holding the scruff of your neck and had you dangling your toes!"

"SHUT UP!" He took a step forward as though to throw a punch, looking ferocious.

I pointed his wand straight at his head, stopping him in his tracks.

We were both panting now, Regulus was seething with anger, cold hatred in his eyes.

"Is this her doing?" He sneered in a quiet, venomous voice, "did your little girlfriend send you to babysit me?"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER! YOU DON'T GET TO MENTION HER!" My blood boiled and I took a step forward, backing him into the tree once again.

"Stop! Sirius STOP!" I turned around, my wand still pointed at Regulus, to see Bella running up the hill towards us, looking stricken. "What are you doing?!"

I felt my anger burn a thousand times hotter at the accusation in her voice, knowing she'd read the situation all wrong.

"Ah, and here she is-" Regulus said in a mocking tone.

"You keep your mouth shut!" I seethed back at him.

"SIRIUS!" Bella ran up to us, then bent double to catch her breath. "Why are you attacking him?! He's your brother! If this is about the other night-"

"I'm not attacking him! And I know he's my brother!" I snapped.

Her face flushed, "then why do you have your wand pointed at his head?!" She demanded. "I told you, I told you to just listen to him, but no, you had to give up on him! And now you're ready to hex his brains out! You have no idea what he-"

"No idea what he's going through? I think I have a fair idea actually! And maybe you're the one who is misunderstanding everything!"

"Really?!" She fumed, "just what am I misunderstanding? The fact that your don't care about him at all?! That you'd just let him go throu-"

"OF COURSE I CARE ABOUT HIM, HE'S MY BROTHER!" I bellowed.

I regretted my outburst immediately at the shock on her face. Even Regulus stiffened. I desperately focused every fibre of my mind power on calming down.

"Of course I care," I repeated in a strained but subdued voice, "I hate that I couldn't be a better brother. I gave up because I bollixed everything up didn't I? I stopped looking out for him because he became my parent's golden child. There's nothing I regret more-"

To my horror my voice cracked.

I saw the surprise turn into pity in Bella's eyes and I couldn't stand it.

I could see Regulus' open mouthed shock from the corner of my eye.

Casting Bella a desperate anguished look, I threw Reg's wand on the ground and stormed away to the change rooms, shouldering past James and the rest of the team as they made their way back up to the castle.

I could perceive their astonishment at my murderous expression, but thankfully no one followed me.

Back to Bella's POV

I stared after Sirius.

I am such a fool. A stupid insensitive fool.

I snapped out of my daze when Sirius disappeared into the change rooms. Regulus slowly bent down and picked up his wand.

I turned to look at him and saw the same dumbfounded expression plastered on his face.

He was staring at the building of the change room dazedly.

"I had no idea," he whispered after a few seconds. "I had no idea he cared." He finished simply.

"Neither did I." I said helplessly.

I looked down again to see that James had sent the rest of the quidditch team ahead to the castle, so they wouldn't come over and bother us with questions.

I desperately wanted to follow Sirius but James stopped me, urging me not to do so and assuring me he just needed time to think through whatever was on his mind and he'd come back to me in his own time.

To my utter dismay and embarassment, a quiet sob wracked my body and I felt fat tears rush down my cheeks.

James immediately wrapped me in a hug and stroked my hair.

After I was reduced to mere sniffles, I pulled back to see Regulus had disappeared.

James led me back up to the common room with an arm around my shoulder. He never once asked me what happened.

He asked me if I wanted Lily to come down as we sat by the fire, but I refused, wanting nothing more than to be alone.

He must had read the desire on my face as I stared into the flames because he whispered a soft "goodnight, get to bed soon B," before heading up to the dormitories, leaving me the only one in the common room aside from a few fourth and fifth year girls.

I huddled closer to the fire and bit my lip. I couldn't stop tapping my foot.

I know James told me to give him time but…Screw it! I have to find him.

I sprang upright, startling the younger girls in the room, and rushed out the portrait hole.

"Lumos," I whispered, ignoring the protests of the sleeping figures in the paintings as they complained about the light.

I ran out of the castle as fast as I could hurl my body, and hurtled across the grounds heading straight for the Forbidden Forest.

It was now pouring down with rain and sleet but I hardly noticed.

I nearly slipped over a few times but I pushed blindly ahead.

I entered the ominous clearing of the Forest and called out wildly.

"SIRIUS! SIRIUS WHERE ARE YOU?"

I kept running, now soaked through my clothes, shivering and teeth chattering.

I didn't notice the tears that leaked out of my eyes until I heard my broken voice call out his name repeatedly.

"SIRIUS PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! WHERE ARE YOU? I NEED TO SEE YOU!"

Eerie noises of birds and other creatures sheltering around the trees from the pounding rain could be heard all around me.

I groped around wildly in the dark, my wand light hardly helping my vision.

"SIRIUS!" I called one last time, before sinking down and sitting on a giant tree root, now heaving with sobs and drenched to the bone.

I tucked my head on my knees and extinguished the light.

I could almost feel hundred of eyes on me from who knows how many creatures in the darkness of the forest.

I sat there for ages, just crying and shivering.

"Aah!" I lifted my head, startled at the sensation of what felt like a wet cloth on the back of my hand.

I gasped in shock and scrambled backwards, still on the ground as I stared face to face with the largest black dog I'd ever seen in my life.

It was terrifyingly large, fur hanging in wet ropes as it stared me down head on.

My heart beat erratically in my chest and no sound escaped my lips.

Slowly, it came closer and I tried to clamour back more but I couldn't, backed against a tree.

To my utter surprise, the great black dog put its head in my hand and licked a stripe up my arm.

I froze in place and it lifted it's head, before tilting it's head to the side in an almost comical way, as if it was gauging my reaction.

I slowly lifted a shaking hand to its head and it immediately made a pleased huffing noise and nuzzled it's large head into my hand.

Shocked at this turn of events, I kept patting the dog until it stepped back.

I sat up and watched as it took several more steps back and seemed to hesitate before lifting up on its hind legs.

My mouth fell open as it began to… transform.

It's legs extended and became like human legs. The same thing happened to its arms and torso.

Finally its face morphed until it became most undeniably a fully-fledged human male.

"Lumos," I whispered again, and slowly held up my wand towards the man's face.

I nearly dropped my wand with a gasp.

Under a mop of luscious black locks that were dripping in the rain, Sirius was looking at me with those piercing, stormy grey eyes.

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