Victoria would not speak to him.
Sirius knew he deserved her silence.
He knew he deserved her hatred.
He missed her, none the less.
He hoped that she missed him too. Hoped that she felt the same stirring in her gut, hoped her life seemed just a bit less bright without him by her side.
Sirius hated seeing Tim and Victoria together. It was not right in his mind.
They sat together during meals.
They sat together in the library studying.
They went to Hogsmeade together.
They sat together in classes.
They were attached at the hip and it made Sirius sick.
He never saw her without him unless it was the brief moments when she was sitting with Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail in the common room at night. Those moments, she did not look his way; she did not recognize his presence. He might as well have not existed that at all. He prayed for harsh word or a sharp glance. Sirius silently pleaded for her to insult him, anything that would mean she knew he was alive.
Crooks and Sirius were both very stubborn people; she more so than him. She would not yield; she would not go back to him. His birthday passed without recognition from her: not a gift, a card, a smile, or even a glance. Finally, he realized that he had to reconcile their relationship because she certainly wasn't going to make the move to.
It was her birthday. He placed her gift on the ground outside of her dormitory and left after knocking on the door.
Victoria opened the door and looked around in confusion before spotting the box on the ground. Stooping to pick it up, she smiled softly as she realized who it was from.
The next morning she sat down next to him on the couch.
"Thanks for the chocolate frogs." she said.
"Happy birthday." he replied softly, not moving his gaze to her even though he wanted nothing more than to look at her and decipher her feelings.
"You sneak into Hogsmeade to get them, Snuffles?" she asked quietly.
"Maybe." he smiled slightly.
"You should stop breaking rules for me."
"I'd do anything for you." he had said.
It was true.
He'd rather torment himself by watching her with Tim than never be around her at all.
Just as he knew he would, however, he soon found a way to ruin their newly rekindled friendship.
"How could you be so stupid!" he yelled at her.
"Sirius—"
"You know what happens every month! You know he can't control himself! You know he doesn't recognize us as he transforms! It's dangerous!"
"That's not a concern for you guys! You go with him month after month! He is my friend too, Sirius! I should be allowed to help and you can't tell me otherwise!"
"We're able to help him!" Sirius cast a glance around them and lowered his voice to a hiss, "You know what we do every month so that we can help him. You can't do that. You're unprotected and you put yourself in danger. You'd get hurt, just like you did tonight." He insisted, pointing a shaking finger at the gash across her cheek. "That's why you can't help us! Because you're careless!"
"Oh! I'm careless. That's rich! You're the most reckless person I know!"
"I've never gotten anyone hurt for it unlike you!" Sirius snapped, gesturing to Prongs who lay unconscious on the Hospital Wing bed next to Crooks'.
"Except last year when you told Snape where to find Remus! You could have gotten him killed! But why would that matter to you?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "He deserved it! But you…I told you not to come. Told you to stay away. All of us did because it's dangerous. You didn't know what you were walking into and none of us expected you to show up. You almost got killed and I had turn my back on Remus to get you out of danger and because of that, James got hurt."
"Sirius—"
"You should have just stayed with Lockwood. Then you would've stayed out of trouble at least."