Even with all of her hard work, Aly was still struggling with charms.

"I just don't get this," she announced, slamming down her book. The noise echoed through the empty common room and caused the only other occupants, the Marauders, to jump.

It was December now, and Aly still only came out of hiding for class and, now, very late at night. She had discovered that after a certain point in the evening, usually, only the Marauders were in the common room. They never asked why she suddenly reappeared. They just allowed it and occasionally conversed with her.

"Trouble?" James called over.

Aly let out a mumble, but none of them could hear what she actually said.

"Well, I'm turning in," James announced.

"Me too," Remus agreed. They stood and went upstairs; Peter in their wake.

Sirius remained. He continued to look at his opened book and notes spread out all over the table. He rocked back and forth on the hind legs of his chair. He twiddled his fingers together. Aly let out a mumble, and his eyes darted towards her.

Finally, Aly let out a loud growl of aggravation, and Sirius jumped up and, in one fluid motion, grabbed his charms book and was next to her. She started as he slide down next to her.

"Need help?'

"No," she snapped.

"Well, that's good. Too bad I feel the need to give it."

She just stared at him.

"Okay, I see," he said looking at the page she was open to.

XxXxX

"Where's Lily? She good at charms. Why doesn't she ever help you?"

Sirius had soon become a figure in Lily's normal chair. With him as her tutor, Aly's charms work kept coming back with better and better grades. He always helped her after all the other boys had gone to bed. Aly tried to ignore the fact that this bothered her.

She didn't turn as she answered his question. "She's with Dickory," Aly huffed as her face changed. She didn't bother to mention that Logan would probably come charging through the door if she asked Lily for help.

Sirius looked at her for second and then laughed, "That's a good one."

Aly smiled slightly.

"Alright, where are we?" he asked scanning her notes.

She pointed out the place and he said, "Ok, I think I know what's wrong. "It's the way you're waving the wand."

After they had finished the lesson, Aly had finally managed to send books dancing through the air and then back to their shelves, Sirius had sat back to relax on the couch. Aly leaned back as well on the other end.

"So, Lily and Dickory," he ventured.

Aly made an impatient noise as she sat with her eyes closed. It was very late. The other three Marauders had stayed up much later than usual.

"You don't really like him, do you?"

"Do you?" Aly asked.

"Not the point," he said smiling.

She sat and examined her hands. They were dried and cracking from the cold. She figured she'd have to ask for new gloves for Christmas. As she sat and caressed her chapped hands, Sirius suddenly asked, "What did your mom look like?"

Aly's head shot up and her brow furrowed. "Why?" It was such a strange question that came out of no where. She figured she'd never understand the way Sirius' mind worked.

"I was just wondering. I mean, you act a lot like you dad. Oh, don't look at me like that cause you know it's true. So, I was just curious to what your mom looked like."

"You've seen the angel," Aly pointed out. "What more do you need?"

He made an odd twitch, out what Aly assumed was annoyance of her putting of the question, and stood. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, don't pout."

"I am not pouting!"

"Are too! Your lower lip is out and everything," he said.

She realized that he was right and quickly sucked in her lip.

He sat down, this time much closer to her, "What's wrong?"

She turned to look at him. She very much wanted to tell him not to pry and to mind his own business, but the look of concern on her face made her suddenly break open the dam of emotion that had been closed for over a month.

"I'm worried about Lily. Dickory is treating her just like Logan used to treat me. And he's completely stalking me. Any chance he gets, he pounces on me. I don't know what to do. And Lily's working with him so I can't even be in the tower without being afraid. And my dad thinks I'm crazy cause Logan's a 'good kid.' Pssh. Good kid, my ass. Look at this mark. How can a 'good kid' leave a mark that is still there after a month? Tell me that. All I want to do is go back to being normal. I want to be able to walk around the castle without being in fear. I just want my life back!" She was crying all over him without remembering how she got there.

"Calm down," he said into her hair as he slowly rocked her. "Take deep breathes for me."

He made her take in a few audible breathes, hold them, and then let them out. This did calm her down a bit.

She sniffled and wiped her nose with her finger as he said, cautiously, "So, you said, 'used'."

"Huh?"

"'Used.' Like in past tense."

Aly shrugged, "Yeah."

"You and Logan are broken up?"

Aly nodded and she felt his whole attitude change.

"And he's stalking you?!" He was suddenly animate and mad.

She looked at him, eyes wide.

"What?" he asked seeing her face.

"Where did this suddenly come from?" She felt a little bit frightened by him.

"I thought you were still with him so I was being careful around you. I didn't want to scare you off again," he explained. Aly smiled as this comment. "But now," Sirius said with a shake of his head, "Oh, now, it is on."

He stood. "Tomorrow, you come out of hiding. You will eat breakfast with us, and Logan will not bother you. Trust me. We will see to it."

He nodded once at her and started to leave.

"Where are you going?" Aly asked, confused.

"There's a plan in motion, Als," he said waving his hand. "Things must be put into motion."

With that, he was gone.

XxXxX

"Remus, make him stop," Aly pleaded.

She was eating with the Marauders the next morning. Sirius was marching back and forth on one side of the table. Peter was trying to keep pace on the other. James sat unhappily next to Remus, across from Aly.

"Ha. Don't you think I would if I could?" Remus asked.

Whatever Sirius was doing, besides making a fool out of himself, was working. Logan was glaring at them all from the Hufflepuff table next to Dickory and Lily. All of the school seemed to be aware of the break up between Logan and Aly. How Sirius managed to spread it through the night was beyond Aly's comprehension.

"Use that badge of yours!" Aly exclaimed, motioning to the Prefect badge on his chest.

"Never works," he told her with a sad shake of his head.

"Let me see that," Aly took it from him and chucked at Sirius' head. It hit him square in the forehead.

"Oww!"

Remus leaned over and picked up the badge. "I think that's the best it ever worked on him."

Sirius had leaned over Remus and was rubbing his head as he told them, "That was not necessary."

He went back to marching though.

"That's it," James announced, "I've had enough. When they get over this ridiculous project, let me know." He left pushing past a first year roughly as he went.

Aly watched him go, a sad look upon her face.

"You just rub him the wrong way, Aly. Not always, but when it comes to Sirius, you just do," Remus told her.

As Aly ate breakfast, she couldn't help but notice the attention Sirius still continued to get from the girls of the school.

"Still a ladies man, huh?" she offhandedly commented to Remus.

He didn't answer but sent her a very odd look.

The rest of her day went as smoothly as breakfast had (with much less marching).

The rest of the week followed the same pattern, but it wasn't like the coma she had experienced with Logan. The Marauders kept things interesting. They asked her what she wanted to do and valued her opinion. The only thing that irked her slightly was that Sirius insisted that he continue to help her with charms after the others had gone to bed.