CHAPTER 23: Complexity

Isabella could not contain the rage inside her. She wanted to murder Whitney, skin her alive, torture her; she wasn't afraid to go to Azkaban for her death. She didn't want to go back to the castle or deeper into Hogsmeade; she wanted to be alone. She turned her head and saw the pathway to the shrieking shack. She didn't care the rumors surrounding the dark, rotting house; she knew that's where she could be alone. Taking out her anger on the snow, she trudged towards the shack. Sitting down halfway between the trail and the shack, she leant her head back against the tree trunk. She closed her eyes, exhaled a deep breath, and fell asleep by the tree.

"Moony, I've never seen you that angry before," James said, a smirk creeping on his face. Remus shook his head and scrunched up his face.

"How could someone be so…so mean," he exclaimed. "Isabella didn't do anything to her and now she's lost her job because of her!"

"Well I thought it was pretty funny," Peter murmured. Remus glared at him and Peter looked away, blushing.

"No no no no, I'm going to make Isabella get her job back," Remus scrunched up his hands into a fist.

"WHO CAAARES," James yelled. "That's what she deserves for being an idiot."
"James, stop talking please. That's really rude and she wasn't being an idiot," Remus defended.

"Listen Moony, just because we're making fun of your little girlfriend doesn't mean you remain crabby for the rest of Hogsmeade, ahkay? Lighten up," James rolled his eyes. Remus put his head in his hands and shook it again. At this point, he had been expecting Sirius to jibe in or snicker or…at least high-five James, but he hadn't had done anything. Sirius continued to sit there, expressionless.

Weird…he still hasn't said anything, Remus thought, but decided not to wonder about it.

"I'm going to find her," Remus said, and started to get up. James shoved him back down and looked him straight in the eye.

"Remus Lupin, you're going to stay with us because I said so, okay? Screw her." Sirius snickered and looked down.

"Yeah he probably wants to," he said softly. James heard and snickered.

"Prongs will you stop stroking my hair please," Remus said, annoyed.
"Why? You don't like it?" James continued to stroke his hair. Remus pushed his hand away and got up.

"Remus, we're not leaving until we've eaten, 'kay? I'm hungry," Sirius said, rubbing his stomach. The boys' breakfasts came and they attacked it like a lion to a gazelle. With full stomachs, the boys paid for their meal and headed out. It was already 1:30pm, and Remus was looking all around Hogsmeade for Isabella.

"Friends, lets follow me to the broomstick shop, because I need a new servicing kit," James started skipping towards the shop.

"Fine, but Honeydukes after!" Sirius called, as he skipped to the shop as well. Peter tried to skip but couldn't pull his foot out of the snow in time, so he fell face flat. Remus just sighed and plodded through the snow. Happily spending money on everything, James frolicked around the store, buying useless things for his broom that he deemed 'necessary.' Sirius was also convincing James to buy these things, as he had a personal use for them as well. Naturally, James gracefully leapt out of the store, and hopped to Honeydukes, his best friend by his side. The 4 spent a good amount of time at Honeydukes, filling a huge bag of sweets- enough for a lifetime. It was 4:40, and the boys decided it was time for a celebratory butterbeer.

"Can we go to The Three Broomsticks, please? I'm quite thirsty," Peter asked.

"Fine, but you have to carry my bags," James said as he dumped his Honeydukes bag on Peter. Obliging happily, Peter followed the 3 to the pub. After getting 4 bottles of butterbeer to go, the boys headed back to the castle. It was 7:00, so the boys stashed their loot in their dorms and headed down to the Great Hall for dinner.

9:30. Isabella woke up with a jerk. A squirrel unintentionally had knocked snow on her head. She rubbed her eyes and looked around: dark. Everywhere was dark.

"Ahh shit," she said to herself. "How long did I sleep for?" She got up, brushed the icicles off her coat, and started heading back to the castle. It was deadly quiet- she wasn't hearing the natural singing of birds or chirps of crickets. She uncomfortable turned around and saw the Shrieking Shack, piercing the dark sky with its creepy composition, as if it was watching her. She started walking faster to Hogsmeade; the snow wasn't helping. She entered the back end of Hogsmeade, now quiet and dimly lit. Looking around with an unsettling mood, she stuffed her hands inside her coat pockets and continued to walk faster back to the castle. Finally seeing the castle doors in the distance, Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. She forgot about the ordeal at the café as her main priority was reaching back alive. She heard crunching of leaves behind her and quickly turned around.

"Black?" She asked surprised, as Sirius also stopped dead in his tracks.

"Clarke?" He sounded unpleasantly surprised.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" She asked, annoyed.

"I could ask the same to you," Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"Ugh…shouldn't you be with your dumbass friends?"

"At least I have 'em," Sirius cockily said. Isabella felt the familiar feeling of anger boiling inside her.

"You know what? Just…ugh," she threw up her hands in defense and started walking back to the castle. She was way too tired to argue. Sirius watched her walk away for a minute.

"Remus is looking for you," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Isabella stopped and closed her eyes.

"Why?" She turned around, completely drained of energy.

"Wow, you really are stupid, aren't you? He wants to see if you're alright," Sirius kicked some snow towards the Whomping Willow. Isabella brushed off the insult and rubbed her eyes.

"Whatever, I don't even care," she murmured and started walking back again.

"…Are you?" Sirius asked. Isabella stopped again and turned around, a little more aggressively this time.

"Am I what?"

"Are you alright?" He asked with no tone in his voice. Isabella looked shocked.

Fuck, I really must be hearing things, she thought to herself.

"The fuck…I'm just…gonna go…" Isabella started to walk back to the castle again. Sirius scratched his head and looked around.

"Look if you need-" he started to say. Isabella wheeled around at full speed this time.

"WILL YOU JUST LET ME GET BACK TO MY DAMN ROOM!" She yelled at him. Sirius narrowed his eyes at her.

"Fine, fuck you," he started. Isabella took that as her queue to leave. "Not my fucking fault you went psycho and lost your job," he said loudly. Isabella stopped walking. She had just started to forget why she was so angry. Her back still turned to him, she opened her mouth to reply, but no answer came out. She was a strong girl, but the emotions hit her like a fast train.

"I seriously hope you-" she paused as her voice broke. It wasn't anger boiling up inside her, rather, sadness mixed with rage. Please don't tell me he heard that, she thought, cringing.

Fuck this is awkward, Sirius thought, clearly hearing the voice break. He decided to say no more and let Isabella leave. Isabella didn't even turn around; she just walked away. In a huff, she was back inside the castle and on her way to the Gryffindor common room. She stopped walking and thought for a second. Turning around to walk in the opposite direction, Isabella knew a way to relieve her stress. Finally reaching where she wanted to go, she saw a familiar person relaxing on a bench.

"Regulus," she said to him. He turned around and grinned.

"Isabella Clarke. What can I do for you?" he cunningly asked. Isabella seductively tossed her hair and gave him a look. Regulus smirked and nodded.

"Another 'session', hey? Follow me Clarke," Regulus beckoned as he led her into the Slytherin common room.