Chapter 21

"Shit." was the only thing I let myself say as I collapsed to my knees. Mentally I was saying 'thank god for Rebby.' In the places where Becca's spells had hit me large pieces of my clothing had burnt away and small burnt bits of flesh were exposed oozing a clear green liquid mixed with small amounts of blood. I stood back up and each of the places where she had hit me twinged in pain, ten times worse than when they had originally been created. I gasped and gritted my teeth, masking my pain with a look of angry determination.

"Sirius? Are you okay mate?" James was standing next to me, giving me a worried look.

"I guess that's what they mean by 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Merlin..." I winced again as I started walking towards the door of the class room. First I was going to the infirmary, then I was going to hunt Becca down and force her to listen to me. It wasn't like I wanted that tramp to kiss me. I didn't even want that tramp to be with in twenty feet of me.

"Remus, grab his bag for me will you?" James yelled to Remus over his shoulder.

Professor Emling walked over, attracted by the crowd. "What's going on over here people? You're supposed to be dueling, not chatting. I want to see everyone back in place in ten seconds or I'm going to start handing out deten-" she paused upon seeing me inching towards the door, large burn marks in my clothing "Sirius Black, what happened here?"

"Slight accident during our duel Professor. My wand slipped and the spell came out wrong. Becca's already off to the infirmary with Rebby and Lily. James and Remus here were just about to help me along." I limped heavily for good measure, favoring the leg with the burn in the calf and thigh.

"Alright, go ahead." Professor Emling waved us away with a flick of her hand. "Everyone else, back to dueling!"

James grabbed my arm and put it around his shoulder then helped me hobble out the door and down the hallway, Remus following close behind with my backpack. After we turned the corner James gave me back my arm and I walked on my own with a much smaller limp.

"What the hell just happened in there?" James asked.

Can James handle thing delicately or what? "Becca and I are kind of going through a rough patch."

"Um, I'm pretty sure her words at breakfast were 'we're over'." Remus said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, that's cause she hasn't let me explain yet."

"Explain what?" asked James.

"Well, she kind of thinks that I was cheating on her. Or that I don't actually like her as much as I act like I do."

"Did you cheat on her?"

"NO! For once in my life, no, I didn't."

"Do you actually love her?" Remus asked.

"Who said love?" I gave him the suspicious glare.

"You did the other night in commons while I was kissing Rach in the commons."

"You were in there?"

"Psh, kissing? You were snogging her face off and you know it." James rolled his eyes.

"Thanks... Anyways, do you really love her?"

"Well, yeah." I said. Duh, obvious, wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. "Of course I meant it, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

Remus and James both gave me a 'look'. "Really?" James asked.

"Well, I might have said it if I didn't mean it, but not this time, this time I really did mean it."

James sighed, "Well, that's something I thought I'd never hear."

Remus shook his head, "And how ironic that the one girl he does love breaks up with him."

"Thanks for reminding me Remus." I groaned. "Arg!" I bumped my leg against a rail and pain shot through it clear to my spine. "Next time I fall in love with a girl remind me to pick one with worse aim and less of a temper."

"Sure thing pad. Need some help there?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's just get to Madame Pomfry and get these damn burns heeled up before I start crying like a little baby, huh?" I tried to laugh it off, but I didn't even convince myself.

"Right." James gave his 'big brother taking care of stupid younger brother' look and helped me the rest of the way to the Infirmary. James and I aren't actually brothers by birth, but if I had to pick one person in the world who would fulfill the role of my brother best, it would be him. He's more of a brother to me than my real brother, the one I refuse to admit I'm related to unless circumstance requires it. James quite honestly saved me from becoming a pitiful depressed lump fighting fruitlessly against the pull of the dark side attempting to drag me into a pit of black despair.

Yeah, I've been hanging around Becca too long. All that poetic crap she always spouts out with the eight adjectives per noun, it rubs off on you after a while. Sad thing is, I kind of miss it and she broke up with me this morning.

How pathetic am I?

"You're not pathetic, you're love struck." Remus said.

"Did I say that out loud?" James and Remus both nodded their heads yes.

Great, now I'm girlfriend-less, pathetic, and I'm disconnected with reality. "To change topics slightly, how are you and Rach doing Moony?"

"Er... Fine. Why do you ask?" Remus blushed.

"Just curious. You seem to be getting along great, but for some reason I get this vibe from Rach that she thinks you like Rebby and is jealous."

"Really? A vibe huh?"

"Yup, a vibe."

"It sure is an oddly specific vibe."

"I have oddly specific vibes sometimes."

"Does this 'vibe' have a name."

"Lily."

"What? Lily? Where?" James jumped in.

"No, James, not here." James got a disappointed look and went back into his own little world.

"Lily huh? You guys all buddy-buddy now?"

"No. She was just checking with me to see if you liked Rebby because she noticed a 'look' the other day or something. I told her you were 100 attached to Rach's hip and the odds of removal with out death or serious injury was .00000000000001. She seemed satisfied with my response."

"Good. I don't have those kinds of feelings for Rebby, and I have no intention of breaking up with or cheating on Rach at any point in the near or distant future."

"Like you would ever cheat on a girl at all Mister Perfect Boyfriend." I rolled my eyes at him. Really, all the girls may chase James and I around the school, and they may say they want to date James and I, but really most of them just want to snog the two of us senseless for a couple of days. When the girls chase Remus it's because they want him for: 1) his body 2) his smarts 3) his capacity for having an actual relationship. A lot of emphasis on that last one too.

"Well then, James, let's get the love struck puppy to the infirmary and get him healed up so I can beat him over the head later for teasing me."

"Sounds good to me." James replied "Hurry it up you furry little rascal, you have to go get your woman back after Remus uses your head as a punching bag too."

"Great. So now I'm love-struck, a moving target, an invalid, a punching bag, and a puppy? Man do you know how to make a guy feel better." I rolled my eyes. I really need to stop doing that, someday I'm going to roll my eyes and not be able to stop or something.

"Well, look at it this way, you're a retriever, so hunting down Becca shouldn't be difficult." James smirked at me.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind the next time you need my help with something Lily related." an empty threat seeing as he's my best mate and I could never leave him hanging in a moment of need. He rarely asks for my help with anything anyways, its usually just implied. I mean, what are friends for if not to help you torment young girls in an attempt to get them to date you and pull pranks on small impressionable munchkins?

Note the sarcasm there.

We reached the infirmary and, after a bit of disgruntled murmuring, Madame Pomfry gave me a potion to drink. The effect was almost instant, the immediate pain subsided and the burn marks healed themselves, closing up before our very eyes. "Cool." I said as the burn on my arm disappeared.

"Yes, very 'cool'. Now stop getting into trouble or you'll see how 'cool' it is when you have to re-grow a bone or two." That was a threat right there. Last year I had to have a finger re-grown because a certain prospective healer said she could fix my broken index finger. The good news is the girl has since graduated, the bad news is that now Madame Pomfry likes to throw it in my face as a warning every time I get hurt.

"Yes, well, I'll just be moving along then..." I hopped off of the infirmary bed and headed for the door. "Thanks again Madame Pomfry!" I waved over my shoulder at her. James and Remus caught up at the door, Remus still carrying my bag since I was too lazy to suggest he give it to me. "Now, I'm off to find Becca, force her to listen, and explain everything. Who's going to help?"

Complete and utter silence from the peanut gallery.

I stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to face them. The next class had started already, so the halls were empty. "Come on, I need someone to help me knock her out and someone to stand guard while I tie her up and force her to listen to me and someone to keep Lily and Rebby busy while the other one and I do those things."

"Er... Or you could tell Lily and Rebby you need to talk to her, have them leave the room, then explain patiently, allowing for outbursts, what happened. You might want to bring your wand though judging by Defense class."

"True. I would like to keep the rest of my limbs in tact." We turned a corner and arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Sugar plums. What is a sugar plum by the way?" I directed the last bit to Remus who shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno, Lily suggested that one to the 7th year Prefects. She gave them a whole list as a matter of fact. Probably they just decided to let her handle the passwords this year or are going straight off her list." Remus rolled his eyes.

"That's my Lily flower! Always prepared!" James smiled widely.

"Stop rubbing the fact that you have a secret girlfriend in my face while I search for my supposed ex-girlfriend. It's making me feel all annoyed and emotional. You remember what happened last time I was all annoyed and emotional and you taunted me, right?" I glowered at James.

"Yeah... You bit me on the arm and wouldn't let go until I apologized. I have the scars to prove it." James rolled up his sleeve revealing six small white scars on his arm in a small arc.

"Man, I've grown, my bite is much larger now, and my teeth are sharper too."

"Yes... Maybe I'll just shut up about Lily now, eh?"

"Good move mate, good move." Remus nodded his head wisely. If you were me or James, you'd never know he was hiding a small smirk behind that angelic face.

"Let's see... How to get up to the girls dorms... Ah, yes, here we go." I walked over to the stair case, looked around the commons once more making sure no one else was there, then transformed into a dog and walked right up them without any trouble.

"We've been trying for the past five years to figure out a way to get up those stairs without jumping the majority of them and inow/i you figure it out in two seconds? Yeesh..." James rolled his eyes at me and, checking the commons as well, transformed into a stag and carried Remus up the stairs.

We walked to the door of the girls dorms and I knocked quietly and waited for someone to come and see who was there. The door was opened a little and a girl with long red hair backed out of the door and closed it behind her. I heard crying sounds coming from the room. I knew it was Becca crying, but I still had to keep myself from peeking around the corner of the door in curiosity. "That's Becca crying in there isn't it?" I asked quietly as the girl turned slowly. It's always hard to tell from behind if you're addressing Lily, Rebby, or Becca when they have their hair down. All three have long red hair and, while there are distinct color differences, if you don't take the time to examine them carefully at some point, from behind you'd never know the difference. I knew this person wasn't Becca; he hair is a lighter shade of red, almost a strawberry blonde. This girls hair was darker, more of a copper tone. Darned if I know which one of the other two it is though, I don't pay attention usually. Even with the girls I dated I didn't really pay attention to the detail that much. That's another thing that's different about how I treat Becca, I notice the little things with her, the little quirks that are specific to her, not just the little things that all girls like or display.

"Yes. She's in there crying and it's your fault. If you don't want to get injured again, I suggest you leave now." The girl said. Definitely Lily, I'd know that note of control rage anywhere, having been on the receiving end of it with James so often.

"Lily, he needs to talk to her, just a few minutes. She probably needs to talk to him too." James explained to Lily calmly.

"No. She's upset and letting the person that upset her in there to talk to her isn't the best idea at the moment. Now go away before I report you to MacGonagall for being in the girls dormitories."

"But Lily, come on, just for a few minutes! It won't hurt anything! I mean-" James was trying to reason with her, but it wasn't going to help.

"Lily, please..." I whispered hoarsely. The emotion was taking me over, making it difficult to speak, to do anything but the one thing I didn't want to do right now, cry. I looked down at my feet. "Please, I've never asked anything of you for myself, so please, just this once..." I looked up, straight at Lily. "Let me talk to her, I need to explain my actions, I need her to understand... I need her to listen to me... She needs to understand why I... She needs, she deserves, the truth... Let me give it to her, please... Please..." I looked down again, wiping at my eyes, trying to keep any tears from falling. God, I'm such a wimp, look at me crying like a little baby over a girl.

Lily gave me an odd look, then slowly a small smile appeared on her face. "Okay. Just give me a second." She said quietly, then turned and crept back into the room.

"Sirius..." James was giving me an odd look as well.

"Yeah?"

An encouraging smile appeared on his face "Good luck."

"Try not to be too confrontational Sirius. Becca is headstrong, and so are you, so one of you has to give way for either of you to get anything said. Try to be the one that does." Remus said wisely, smiling encouragingly with James. "Good luck."

"Thanks guys." I nodded appreciatively to them.

Lily crept back out the door, followed by Rebby. "Go on in. She's really upset right now, so don't be surprised if she's blubbering like an idiot."

"And if you make it any worse I'm going to beat your brains in, find something pointy to stab you with repeatedly, toss you off the astronomy tower, then chop you into bits. Then I'll find some way to put you back together and bring you back to life so I can do it all again, you hear me? Indefinite torture!"

"That's enough Rebby." Lily stopped Rebby's tirade and led her to the side of the door so I could enter.

"I'll keep that in mind Rebby." I whispered to her as I stepped up to the door and turned the knob.

As I walked in James said something to Rebby that I could barely hear because of the sudden appearance of Becca's sobs. He said "You do realize that nothing you could ever do to him could be worse than what he'll put himself through if he makes it worse."

That was the last thing I heard as I closed the door behind myself and walked to Becca's bed. I sat on the edge of her bed and hesitated, gathering my thoughts. "Becca... I need to tell you the truth about something..."