Disclaimer: All ideas are based on characters and events belonging to J.K. Rowling.

Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 20: Repairing Mistakes

James walked down the train, looking in each compartment for his sister. He was so mad he was finding it hard to think straight. What the hell was Sirius playing at?

Finally, in a compartment almost at the end of the train he found Olivia. He stood and watched her through the glass for several minutes, his heart breaking for her. She was sitting next to the wall of the train, her head against the window, tears rolling down her cheeks. Every now and then he watched as a sob would rack her body.

Slowly, he opened the door. She jerked her head up and started wiping at her face, trying to get rid of the tears. He took a seat next to her and pulled her to him in a hug. He just sat there in silence, holding her, waiting for the moment she felt like talking. After several minutes, she sniffed. "I feel so stupid, Jamie."

James shook his head and rubbed her shoulder. "You're not the stupid one, Livey."

"I am. How could I ever think that I even had a chance with him?"

James sat in silence, thinking hard. He honestly hadn't thought that she would completely open up to him but was extremely grateful that she was. He wasn't sure what to tell her though. He was pretty sure that Sirius did like her, but if Sirius would ever admit to that, he wasn't sure. He sighed. "Give him some time, Livey. You know he's had a rough summer and then there's the whole thing with Scarlett…just promise me you won't give up."

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Sirius sighed as he felt the train starting to slow down. He was kicking himself. He had hurt her. He had tried all summer to protect her and now he was the one hurting her. James and Olivia still hadn't got back to the compartment yet and he could only imagine what they had been talking about. Standing, he gathered the few scattered possessions that were laying around the compartment, leaving his trunk for the house elves, before following the others out into the night.

Olivia and James rejoined them in the carriage that would take them from the village up to the castle.

Sirius couldn't help but notice that Olivia's face looked extremely tear streaked and he felt guilt tearing at his stomach. The ride to the castle seemed to take forever and the entire ride was silent, nobody knowing what to say. Once the carriage stopped everybody filed out, heading straight for the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast and the Sorting.

The sorting seemed to fly by and Sirius barely even acknowledged the new members of Gryffindor as everybody else greeted them warmly. He barely ate and what he did eat, he didn't really taste. His mind was elsewhere. He had to fix this and he knew the first step. Waiting as patiently as he could for the dinner to be over, he sighed as Dumbledore finally stood. He only half listened as the headmaster gave his normal welcome back speech before the students were dismissed.

He quickly stood and located who he was looking for. Scarlett was making her way out of the hall with one of her roommates when Sirius caught up with her. He gently reached out and caught her arm. Though he startled he, once she realized who it was she smiled. "Sirius. I was hoping you'd find me."

He curtly nodded. "Come on, I need to talk to you."

She held onto his hand tightly as he led her through the halls until they came across an empty classroom. As soon as the door was shut and locked, Scarlett pushed herself up against him. "I knew you'd want to finish what we started on the train."

He grabbed her hands as they were making their way to his belt. "No, Scarlett. When I said we needed to talk, I meant talk."

She tried to kiss him and sighed as he pulled away from her. "Talking's no fun, Sirius. Now come on, we need to finish what we started."

She tried to wrap her arms around his waist but he gently took her wrists in his hands and held them. "No, Scarlett."

"What the bloody hell could be so important?"

"We need to break up."

She stood there in silence, staring at him. He hadn't exactly meant for it to come out so bluntly but was glad that he had got it out. She jerked her hands out of his grasp before bringing one up quickly to meet the side of his face. "You insufferable bastard! This is all because of Potter, isn't it?"

Sirius stayed silent, his face burning from the contact with her hand. His silence must have answered her question though as she brought her hand up and slapped him again before storming out and slamming the door behind her.

He brought his hand up and rubbed the glowing hand print on the side of his face before sitting on one of the desks that had been pushed against the wall. A few moments later the door creaked open and he looked up to see James walk in. James must have seen the question in Sirius' face as he held up the Marauder's Map. "I was wondering where you ran off to after the feast."

He nodded. "I had something I needed to take care of."

"Considering I about got run over by a raging Scarlett and the hand print of the side of your face, I guess you finally broke up with her?"

Sirius nodded slowly.

"So what's going on between you and my sister?"

Sirius looked James in the eye. "I like her, Prongs. I've been such a git, I know that, but I'm going to try and fix it."

James nodded. "See that you do." He hopped down off the desk. "You better treat her right, Sirius. You hurt her and I'll make sure you pay for it."

Sirius smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

James nodded again. "She's on top of the Astronomy Tower." With that said, he turned and walked out.

Sirius sighed but he couldn't help but smile. The first stage of fixing things was complete and he definitely had James' permission. He stood up and made his way out of the classroom, making his way toward the Astronomy tower. Once he was standing in front of the door that led to the roof of the tower, he took several deep breathes before slowly turning the handle. He quietly stepped out and shut the door behind him. Olivia was leaning on the side of the wall, looking out over the grounds. He stopped and just stared at her. She was so beautiful. Whatever it was she saw had brought a smile to her face and he found himself not wanting to interrupt her.

His stomach was twisting and turning as he finally decided to approach her. She jumped as she finally heard him and turned around. He felt guilt wrenching at him again as he saw she had been crying again. "Sirius, you frightened me."

He gave her a small smile. "What were you looking at?"

Though she was upset she couldn't help but smile back. "Niko's on the grounds playing." Sirius stepped beside her and leaned against the wall. He looked over the wall and chuckled as he spotted the cat practically doing backflips chasing something too small to be seen from their vantage point. "What happened to your face?"

Sirius blushed. He had been hoping she didn't notice that. "I upset Scarlett. She got a little violent."

Olivia brushed a finger across the reddened skin causing tingles to follow. "What happened?"

He looked her in the eye. "We broke up."

Olivia paused and stared at him. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that, are you ok?"

He sighed before giving a nervous smile. "Yea, things are getting better. I broke up with her, Olli."

Olivia continued to stare at him. What exactly was he getting at?

He reached out and took one of her hands in his. Nerves tore at his stomach. "Can we talk?"

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James sat in the sixth years' dorm room, the map spread out in front of him. He was seriously considering using his cloak and going to see what was going on. All the not knowing was driving him crazy. Finally, he stood up and walked down to the common room.

Remus was sitting, going over notes with Lily when James walked up. Lily stiffened as James sat down, preparing herself for his usual onslaught of asking her out but it never came. He sat down quietly beside Remus, who looked at him. "They still not back yet?"

James shook his head. "I'm starting to worry about them. What if they're fighting? What if he hurts her feelings? What is she hurts his? Ugh." He laid his head into his hands. "I don't know what to do, Moony."

Remus chuckled at him. "I'm sure they're fine, Prongs."

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Author's Note: Hope everybody enjoyed. Review!

Carlie13 – Glad you like it, keep reviewing!

talyag – Yes he is, but he's trying to fix it.

ForeverTeamEdward13 - See, it finally happened. Lol Hope you enjoyed it!

.girl – Thanks, I'm glad you like it, keep reviewing!

VerityJeneve – Yea, I'm not her biggest fan either, lol. Hope you enjoyed this and keep reviewing!

Eve k – I'm glad you like it so much and I hope you enjoyed this. Keep reviewing!