A/N- Hey guys! Sorry for the long gap again. But I've gotten a really awesome beta who's going through the all chapters now. I'll be reuploading the chapters once I've made changes. So updates will be more sporadic from now on. But luckily, I have the next chapter written so you won't have to wait long for that. I'm trying to move the plot along and taking all your points and suggestions into consideration. So please keep leaving your feedback. I love reading all of them!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

You're such a bloody idiot, Dany! What was the point of starting an ego war? Everything was pretty complicated as it was…

It was currently 2 in the morning and while the entire Gryffindor seventh year girls dorm was asleep, a single raven haired witch lay awake, fighting every instinct to kick and scream her frustrations away. However, this might cause the rest of her dorm to react adversely, and truth be told, she was not keen on being hexed by any of the highly skilled seventh years she had spent her school life with.

So instead she rolled over to her other side and tried her hardest to calm her hyperactive mind. That's when she noticed that it was almost a full moon. Remus… She wondered how he was feeling. Had his pre-transformation symptoms kicked in? In all the drama that had happened with Sirius, she felt like she had hardly seen Remus in the last few days. She resolved to have a good, long talk with him the next day. Her mind felt a little more relaxed and, soon, she had drifted off to sleep.

"Padfoot," Remus said in a low voice. "For Merlin's sake, go to sleep. I can practically hear the cogs moving in your brain."

"Sorry, Moony," Sirius muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"What on earth is the matter? I haven't seen you have trouble sleeping since 5th year."

"It's nothing. Go back to sleep, Moony. You need your rest."

Remus opened his mouth to argue but Sirius had shut the curtains around his four poster bed with a sharp flick of his wand, indicating that the conversation was over. Strange. Why did Sirius sound so disturbed? Perhaps James would know. But asking James would have to wait till the morning.

Tuesdays usually meant double Potions. But the saving grace was that it was after lunch. The seventh years need only bother with Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Arithmancy, or if they were so lucky, nothing at all. Remus and Dany were both headed to Arithmancy after breakfast, while the others made their way to their respective classes.

"How've you been, Remus?" Dany adjusted the strap of her satchel.

"I've been better. I'm sure you've noticed that the full moon is only a couple of days away," he said in a low voice. "And what about yourself? I never got to speak to you after your thrilling Quidditch debut."

"Haha! That's right, I had almost forgotten about the match. It seems like ages ago…" she trailed off, her eyes becoming glazed as her mind flashed through everything that had happened in the last few days.

"Dany?" Remus waved his hand in front of her face. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh… yes! I'm fine!"

"You look a bit tired. Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing! I, uh, I just didn't get much sleep last night," she mumbled, sheepishly.

"Seems like a common ailment these days. I wonder if its related in any way."

"Related to what?" she asked, stopping outside the Arithmancy classroom.

"Sirius. He couldn't sleep last night either. And since you two have this weird habit of temper coordination, I just assumed that it's related somehow."

"I see…" Dany smiled, uncertainly. She walked over to her seat, slightly absent minded once again and completely missing Remus' low chuckle.

"Evans, as if it wasn't bad enough that you're top of the class, but now you're reading advanced books outside of the syllabus in the tiny gap between classes?"

Lily flushed slightly and quickly shut the book she had been reading. James and Sirius had just walked into the dungeons and she had been so immersed in the book that she hadn't even noticed them. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her before sitting down in his regular seat.

"Isn't that the book Moony was reading that day?" James asked, leaning in for a quick kiss before taking the book from his girlfriend.

"It is. I can't tell you how fascinating it is, James! I can't believe I've never come across this before!"

"Really? Well, if it's something that my Lilykins likes, then it has to be interesting," he grinned at her.

"Get a room, Prongs," Sirius muttered, disinterestedly.

"What's got his knickers in a twist?" asked Lily in a low voice.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with our favorite substitute Keeper." Remus had joined the conversation, making sure to keep his voice low so that neither of the two concerned could hear him.

"Why's that?" James asked, eyeing his best friend and the girl preparing to sit beside him.

"I have a hunch. Plus, it wouldn't be the first time these two have gotten into a fight."

"Remus is right," Marlene piped up, her eyes glowing with mischief. "It's all that bloody sexual tension. I'm telling you, they've reached snog potential."

"McKinnon, your subtlety would put Mulciber to shame," Sirius drawled, clearly having caught what Marlene had said. "Keep that charming nose out of other people's business, alright love?"

"Ooh!" Marlene let out a low whistle. "He's miffed."

Indeed that was what Sirius was. He was confused and he was annoyed. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what was going on inside that girl's head. Her sudden flashes of temper, her eyes shining with accusation, and the way she made him feel like a complete tosser. He hadn't even done anything wrong, for Merlin's sake! He was supposed to be training with her brother! Why had she blown up like that?!

Slughorn had started his lecture and Sirius took this opportunity to glance at her quickly. Her brows were knitted together as she jotted down the important points from the lecture. But it wasn't that that gave away her rotten mood to Sirius. It was the way her cheeks appeared more hollow and sunken because of the strain she was putting on them. It was the way her left hand was clenched next to the inkpot. It was the way her eyes looked into his, with a wary resignation peppering the sparks of anger.

He didn't look away. Not this time. He wanted her to know that this wasn't going to be as simple as having a fight and then ignoring each other. She would actually have to hash this out with him. Or worse, actually come to some sort of conclusion on what they were to each other.

Eventually, she broke the eye contact. Her cheeks looked slightly pink but for the rest of the lesson, she avoided any sort of interaction with him. As soon as the bell rang, she bolted out of the dungeons as fast as she could. But Sirius was not one to be defeated so easily.

"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Lily, as she swung her satchel over her shoulder and followed James to the common room.

"Don't be so morbid, Lilian!" James grinned at her. "Worst comes to worst, we'll be visiting Padfoot at the Hospital Wing for a few days."

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter, can I see you both in my office for a few minutes." McGonagall gave them a stiff nod and indicated that they follow her.

"Meet you back in the common room, Moony!" yelled out James, grinning at McGonagall apologetically as she threw him a look of disapproval.

"Wait."

Dany clenched her fists together. Sirius had followed her all the way to the other end of the castle. He was far too determined, she realised. She had severely underestimated him.

"Dany."

"What do you want?"

"To talk." Even though it was already November, Sirius' jumper was slung over his bag, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his tie loosened from its usual knot. He had a slight frown on his face as he walked closer to her.

"About yesterday," he began. "I'm not exactly sure what happened. Why were you so upset?"

Dany's cheeks burned with embarrassment as she pondered his question. She didn't really know how to answer his question. It made her feel so unsettlingly vulnerable.

"Was it just because I was with Mike?" he continued, his eyes softening slightly. "Because I don't think that's all it was. But I won't understand unless you tell me."

Dany still couldn't seem to find the words to answer him. She stood there, looking into his stormy grey eyes, millions of conflicting thoughts rushing through her brain. What did she want to say? What did she want him to know?

"Fine. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." He placed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall slightly. "But I'm not going to let this go. If you think you can shake me off by losing your temper and then stopping verbal communication, then you really don't know me well at all. I don't give up easily. And I'm in this for the long run."

Dany didn't get much of an opportunity to contemplate the meaning behind his words because no sooner had he said this, than he was leaning in towards her, dangerously close. His lips brushed against her cheek but it was also low enough to graze the pulse point on her neck, making her shiver at the contact.

She clutched the part he had just kissed, looking at him with searching eyes.

"I'll be waiting," he whispered, his voice strangely husky, and then moving away from her, he turned around and walked back in the direction of the Great Hall.

"I have received numerous complaints from Professor Hosenstein," McGonagall said as she beckoned them both to sit down. "Especially regarding Gryffindor students. Ordinarily, I would just speak to the students in question, but this is bordering on some sort of discrimination. Has anything happened that I should know of?"

James and Lily exchanged glances. There hadn't really been any specific incidents to speak of. Sure, Hosenstein had been perpetually irritated whenever she came to class. But there was no real reason for her to be targeting Gryffindors.

"I don't think so, Professor," said James, looking thoughtful. "Professor Hosenstein hasn't been particularly keen on teaching us in general. We haven't really had any significant incidents."

"You are quite sure of this?"

"Absolutely," agreed Lily. "Do you want us to speak to the seventh years? Or let the Prefects know? So that they can keep an eye on their years in particular."

"Not just yet, Ms. Evans." McGonagall sighed and straightened her glasses. "I shall speak to Professor Hosenstein and ask her exactly how she wants the students to behave. For the time being, I would ask you both to remain alert and perform your duties as always. Expect an owl from me soon regarding this incident. You may leave."

"Who would've guessed that Hosenstein has an even bigger stick up her arse, eh?" James wondered out loud as they headed back to the common room.

"But more importantly, McGonagall thought it important enough to call us in. Should we be worried, James?" Lily asked, tying her hair up in a bun.

"Not at the moment, Lils. At least, not from what we've heard so far. But I think," he said, dropping his voice slightly. "The old cloak needs to make an appearance soon."

"Don't do anything stupid," she said, kissing his cheek lightly. "I wouldn't want to put my boyfriend in detention."

James winked at her and bounded up the boys' staircase, two steps at a time. Lily smiled after him indulgently, almost tripping over a pair of shoes in the process. The owner of the shoes was currently lying on the sofa, curled up into an almost stationary ball.

"Dany?" Lily shook her shoulder softly, to which her friend just stared back with a glassy expression. "What're you doing here?"

Dany shook her head and shifted, making room for Lily to sit down. On closer inspection, the red head noticed that had noticeable bags under her eyes.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen with Sirius?" Lily felt Dany stiffen at the mention of the grey-eyed Marauder. "Come on, Dany, tell me what's wrong."

"I don't really know." Her voice was very low, hardly audible over the crackle of the fire. "And that's partly what's wrong."

"I… don't understand."

Dany turned her face towards the fire. She couldn't bare to look at Lily while saying these things. It was embarrassing and no matter how close they became, these were very raw, personal feelings she had never voiced before. The thoughts, feelings, and emotions she had regarding Sirius, how she didn't know how to deal with them, how she felt like it was much easier to not do anything, how she was mainly worried about making a mistake rather than actually thinking about relationships.

"Do you fancy him?" Lily asked simply. "Because I never once heard you say that."

Dany didn't reply. Oddly enough, she wasn't sure of the answer to Lily's question. And that fact gnawed at her insides more than anything else. Having snogged the bloke more than once, how could she not even know whether she fancied him in any way. In all her life, she had been extremely reserved, but despite not sharing things with people around her, she had always been truthful with herself. So the fact that she didn't know if she fancied Sirius, worried her more than she cared to admit.

"I think that's where you need to start. All this energy and emotion that you're investing- what is it for?" Lily got up and walked up the stairs to the girls' dorm, leaving Dany more anxious than before.

Meanwhile, James was back in the seventh year boys dorm, trying to understand exactly what it was about this godforsaken book that had both Lily and Remus completely hooked.

"Moony! Why in Merlin's name are you still reading this? You haven't finished Hosenstein's assignment yet." Remus looked up from the book, guiltily. James frowned and snatched the book away from him. "I'll keep this with me for the time being. Come on, Moony, you have more self control than all of us combined."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Remus scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just such a fascinating book. Do you remember what i was telling you and Lily during the victory party? Well, I was reading more about that and apparently they're called Indicators. Not the most innovative name, I agree. But I've actually been wondering if there might be any indicators at Hogwarts."

"Is there any way of finding out? Do they give out special signals or something?" James flipped through the pages thoughtfully.

"I haven't found anything related to that yet. But it's only something that is found in muggleborns, so that does narrow our field a little bit. I was thinking about doing some research with Lily. And if you helped us, I think we'd be able to progress much faster."

James pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, contemplating the information he had just skimmed through. "I'm game if she is. Can't say this isn't very rare magic, so we might have to put in a lot of time and effort."

"Brilliant! Thanks, Prongs!" beamed Remus. "I'll try find a time that would work for all three of us. I think we should start around Christmas."

"Sounds good, Moony. Now, if you'll excuse me," James yawned, falling onto his four poster bed. "I need a nap. Wake me up in time for dinner, will you?"

But Remus didn't respond, once again immersed in the book and completely forgetting about the assignment that was due. James sighed and rolled over in exasperation.

"Ouch!" Remus exclaimed, massaging his left arm where James had hit him with a pillow. "Alright, alright. I'm studying!"

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