Days in Avalon
Chapter Thirty-two: Written All Over My Heart
As the weeks went by, the tension of the sixth years grew to an all time level. But most notably in the Gryffindors. Many of the other students saw that hardly anyone was talking to one another. Everyone, including the faculty was especially curious as to why a certain few Gryffindors had reverted back to their old ways of trying to avoid one another.
Lily Evans had tried for weeks to rid herself to the fallout that she had with James. But for some unexplained reason, she found herself slipping into her memories more often than usual. This did not go unnoticed by a number of people.
"Lily what is it?" said Everett one night as they walked through the dark castle hallways.
"What are you talking about?" inquired Lily as she blinked back into the present.
"Something is bothering you. You seem to be on edge lately. Is there something wrong?" he asked with deep concern.
"No. Nothing is wrong," she said as she shook her head.
"Are you sure? Because you really don't seem like yourself," he persisted. Lily bit her lower lip as her conscience fought with her voice in order for the truth to finally come out. She wanted to tell Everett about what happened with her and James for awhile now, but every time she was about to, she heard Felicia's voice, and the possible fear of losing him forever gripped her tightly.
"Lily whatever it is, you can tell me. Please sweetheart. Tell me what's wrong," said Everett as he took a hold of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes, willing her to finally tell him what was on her mind.
"I'm not sure you want to know this," she said in a low voice.
"Lily...whatever it is, just tell me. I hate to see you in agony."
"Okay. Well...uh...I guess there is no reason to beat this around the bush. So...I'm just going to say it. A couple of weeks ago...I...well...I sort of...kissed someone," she stuttered. She watched as her boyfriend's face changed from concern to confusion, and finally resting on a look that held a great deal of pain and confusion.
"You, what?" he said in almost a whisper.
"I kissed another guy. Well...actually he kissed me. Everett I didn't mean for it to happen. It was an accident."
"An accident? How can you accidentally kiss someone else?"
"There was a misunderstanding. He thought I was interested, but I'm not. I'm only interested in you," plead Lily.
"Who was it?" he asked abruptly.
"Pardon?"
"That kissed you. Who was he, Lily?"
"It doesn't matter," stuttered Lily as she avoided his gaze.
"It does to me! So who was it? Your friend, Remus Lupin? Or that idiot Hufflepuff guy that you tutored?"
"Everett, please," begged Lily as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Or was it Potter?" he asked darkly.
"W-Why would you even..."stuttered Lily in a low voice.
"Because you've been spending a fair amount of time with him, that's why! Not to mention the fact that he's fancied you for quite some time now," roared Everett.
"It wasn't him!"
"I swear I'll make him wish..."
"IT WASN'T HIM! Alright? And what is with you acting like this?"
"How did you expect me to act, Lily? My girlfriend just told me that she's been snogging another guy behind my back! Oh, wait until I get a hold of him. I'm done with him. He'll think twice with messing with my girl," said Everett menacingly.
"Your girl? Since when did I become an object? I am your girlfriend, yes, but you don't own me. Besides the only reason why I told you is because you wanted to know," spat Lily.
"So now you're saying it's my fault?" he said in an accusing tone.
"No, I'm not saying it's anyone's fault. It just happened. It didn't mean anything! It was just one kiss! It's not like I wanted it to happen."
"But it did! It did happen, Lily. God...I...I don't even know what to say anymore," said an exhausted Everett as he turned away from Lily.
"Everett, where are you going?"
"I need sometime to process this, alone. I'll see you later."
Lily wandered the dark halls of Hogwarts in a daze. She kept replaying the fight with Everett over and over again in her head as silent tears fell from her eyes. As walked through the halls aimlessly, she soon found herself on the seventh floor and traveled down the corridor. Suddenly she was aware of a delicious aroma coming from a door she never noticed before. She hesitated for a moment before she grabbed the doorknob and pulled on it. It didn't budge. Lily thought that it was a bit odd, but didn't really care at the moment to find out what was behind the door. She was mentally drained as she slowly walked down the corridor once more replaying the events of the past few weeks.
"Lily?" said a familiar voice from behind her. She turned around to find Andy standing in the dark hallway holding open the mystery door. "What are you doing here at this hour?"
"Just thinking," she said with a shrug.
"What happened? Have you been crying?" said Andy as she searched her friend's face with deep concern.
"No," Lily said weakly.
"Come on, inside," waved Andy as she pulled an arm around Lily.
When Lily entered the room, she was shocked to find a gourmet kitchen filled with tools that every chef dreams of. Lily could see and feel that two of the four ovens were on as she walked over to one of the stools that were around the island. It wasn't until she sat down that she noticed that there were numerous trays of bake goods such as brownies, various cupcakes with frosting, and cookies.
"What happened to you? What's wrong?" asked Andy as she took a seat on one of the other stools as she pulled out her wand and had come of the cookies that were cooling float over to them and land on a serving plate.
Lily hung her head as she thought about the look on her boyfriend's face during their argument. "I think I just broke up with Everett."
"You what? W-how? What happened?" said a completely stunned Andy.
Lily told her all that happened to her in the past few weeks except for who she kissed exactly.
"Well...why didn't you tell him sooner? Why now?" asked Andy as she frosted another cupcake along with Lily.
"I took some advice from a friend," said Lily carefully. She really didn't want to tell Andy where she got her 'great' advice from.
"Oh, Lil! You talked to Felicia?" asked Andy after a moment of thought. "You know the girl doesn't tell her boyfriends anything. Hell I'm surprised to hear that she's still faithful to Blackie."
"I didn't know who else to talk to," said Lily a little defensively.
"Why didn't you come to me?"
"You weren't around. And when you were...you were off in this other world or something," admitted Lily. Andy paused for a moment and realized that her friend was right. She lowered her head a bit in the realization and mentally kicked herself for acting so horribly toward her best friend.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. Guess I failed at being there for 'the best mate in a crisis problem' test."
"It's okay. Besides, you're there most of the time," said Lily with a smile
"Yeah...plus I'm here now," Andy said trying to lighten the mood. The two of them sat there for a moment not knowing what else to say. It was finally Lily's voice that broke the silence.
"So...do you think I lost Everett for good?" she asked not sure if she really wanted to hear Andy's answer.
"Well, from what you've told me, he sounded pretty pissed off. But...I also know that he really does care for you. So my advice to you is just to give him time to cool off and let it all sink in. He'll come around, eventually. Just have faith," said Andy in a soothing tone.
"Thanks Andy," replied Lily with a small smile. For some reason she knew that Andy was right and that Everett would eventually start to talk to her again.
"No problem," said Andy.
"So what exactly is this place? I know there is no way that a full kitchen can be up here," commented Lily as she glanced around the room.
"It's called the Room of Requirement. I came across it a couple of years back. It'll turn into anything you want, so long as no one else is using it," replied Andy as she grabbed a couple of oven mittens and walked over toward one of the ovens.
"So, why the kitchen?" asked Lily.
"I just felt like baking something," shrugged Andy as she opened the oven door and pulled out yet another batch of cookies.
"Baking? You never bake."
"Yes I do!" said Andy defensively. "Just…not when I'm here."
"Yeah, but...wait a moment. Didn't you once tell me that you mostly bake because you're stressed out over a personal problem?" asked Lily.
"Yes, and usually it's caused by my sister. But Jen isn't the cause for this," said Andy as she nodded toward the huge batch of bake goods as she put the sheet of cookies down to cool.
"So what is it then?"
"Eh, I don't really want to talk about it," said Andy a little withdrawn.
"Okay," said Lily thinking it was better to not push the subject.
"So who was it?" asked Andy wanting to change the subject.
"Who was what?"
"The guy. Who was the guy that kissed you?" asked Andy with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Uh...just some guy," stuttered Lily.
"Oh. Okay then," replied Andy knowing better than to push the subject.
"I just don't really feel like going into details right now," explained Lily.
"Fair enough. Here, have a brownie," nodded Andy as she handed a chocolate walnut brownie over.
"Thanks. So what have you been up to lately? Besides your sudden interest in pastries," joked Lily
"Ah, same old, same old. Classes, Quidditch, getting into fights with the resident 'rat pack'," said Andy a little harshly.
"Black?" inquired Lily. Andy shook her head in protest as she bit into a brownie.
"Potter," she said after she finished swallowing.
"You got into a fight with James?" said a surprised Lily.
"Yup. He was acting all moody the other day. He's been like that for awhile now, come to think of it," said Andy off handedly. "Anyway, when I asked him what was bothering him, he nearly bit my head off. He said 'It was none of my damn business' and 'that I should stop medaling in his life'. And they say girls have wide mood swings," chuckled Andy.
"Is this what brought out the baker in you?" inquired Lily.
"A little, but this mostly is because of something else," said Andy as her face fell a bit. Lily could see that she was starting to recede back into her thoughts about whatever it was that was plaguing her.
"I see. Hmm...well whatever it is, you must really be frustrated," remarked Lily.
"Why's that?" said Andy a little confused.
"Because this is the best brownies you've ever made so far," commented Lily with a chuckle.
"Thanks, I think," giggled Andy.
"So are you willing to talk about what's bothering you?" offered Lily.
"No. Not really," said Andy as she shook her head a bit. Lily nodded in understanding.
"Well...whenever you're ready."
"You'll be the first I talk to," stated Andy.
After their late night snack and talk, Lily headed off back to the Gryffindor tower and head off to bed. Andy on the other hand decided to walk around the castle a little more in hopes to clear her head of her thoughts. As she walked past her classrooms alone in the dark, she kept replaying the events of the past year. The day on the platform when everyone saw her new look and hair color, especially Sirius who tried to pick her up, popped into her head. The dual she had with Sirius when they served their detention together. The partnership they agreed too. All the times they met in secret to figure out their plans for Lily and James. She also thought of the night on top of the Astronomy tower when he told her about what happened to him over the summer, and the look in his eyes when looked at her.
But their day in Paris was a memory that just didn't want to go away. She kept on thinking about the way he held her when they danced, and the look in his grey eyes whenever he smiled at her. All of these thoughts were ones that Andy could enjoy for a period of time. Unfortunately every time she thought of one of these happy memories, the euphoria wouldn't last long because of one image that Andy was now convinced was permanently implanted into her mind. The sight she saw about a week or so ago that involved Sirius and one of her close friends.
'Why can't I stop thinking about him?' asked Andy to herself. 'Why can't I stop thinking about Sirius, when I don't even like him that much?'
"Because you do like him that much. You like him a lot," said her reflection in the glass pain
"What? No I don't. Okay yes I like him. As a friend, nothing more and nothing less."
"Oh please do you think you can lie to yourself? You think about him everyday. Hell practically every second! You like being around him. He makes you feel happy in a way you have never known."
"True. But I don't think about him every second. Maybe more than once or twice a day but…I can't help it. Merlin, when did he get so under my skin?"
"The day you two finally put aside your differences and got to know one another," her reflection answered back.
"Smart ass."
"I prefer voice of reason."
"Whatever. So, 'voice of reason' how do I get him over him?"
"That's for you to figure out I'm sorry, I can't help you there, Miranda," said the reflection before dissolving away.
Andy shook her head to out of frustration. In all the years she had been interested in guys, she could not remember a time when she felt this strongly for a guy. Let alone the guy being at one point her sworn enemy. She slightly laughed at the irony of her situation. She couldn't believe that her life turning into one of those sad pathetic muggle teen drama show that her sister enjoys watching while on holiday.
Slowly Andy found her way to her favorite place to think. As she reached the observation ledge of the Astronomy tower her mind began to wander to the night she told Sirius about what happened to her parents and the fall out with her mother. She remembered the way he held her, so strongly, yet gentle at the same time as he ran his hand through her hair. The way his voice sounded when he told her about his own fallout with his parents was even different that night. "Was that it? Was that the moment I started to feel like this?" she asked herself.
She once again looked up into the cold night sky for some sort of hint as to when she started to have feelings for Sirius. But mostly she was looking for a way to stop having these feelings. Finding that she wasn't really receiving any guidance, she walked somberly down the flight of stairs and let her mind wander back to that fateful moment when she realized how much she actually did care for him.
The sight of seeing him in bed with Felicia really shouldn't have surprised her since she is his girlfriend. Yet all the same, the shock struck her to the very core. At that moment, Andy had never known what it felt like to have your heart broken by Sirius Black. She didn't really remember leaving Gryffindor tower when she hid away in one of the deserted classrooms on the first floor crying her eyes out. After replaying the scene over and over again since it happened, she now realized that she had done what many girls at Hogwarts had done before, given their hearts to one Sirius Black just to have it crushed. The only difference was that she had given her heart blindly.
Tears began to form in Andy's eyes once again as she went through her private emotional rollercoaster. She blinked away her blinding tears as she wandered around the dark hallways and turned a corner. At that moment she hit something sort of hard, yet soft at the same time before she fell to the ground along with someone else. It was then that she realized she had walked right into another student whose books were now half out of his bag.
"Oh! I'm sorry," said the boy quickly.
"No it's alright. It was my fault," sniffed Andy as she helped the boy put his books back into the bag. She wiped away a couple of her tears to see that this boy was quite handsome with his dark brown hair as well as a pair of chocolate brown eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. Andy smiled a little before she got up to walk away.
"Are you alight?" asked the boy when he noticed her face.
"Yes. I'm fine," lied Andy as she quickly took the sleeve of her robes and wiped her face.
"Well…no offense," said the handsome boy, "but you don't like fine."
"Why do you say that?" said Andy trying to put on a good front.
"Because you are crying," he replied plainly.
Andy chuckled slightly at his honesty. "Guess I can't fool you. God I hate being such a girl," she said as she wiped away a few more tears.
"Here," said the boy as he extended his hand holding a handkerchief for Andy.
"Thank you," replied Andy as she took the item.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked after a few moments allowing Andy time to compose herself.
"No. But thank you for the offer, though," she said politely.
"I'm Tristan by the way," he said after an awkward period of silence. Andy could see that he was mentally kicking himself for thinking that sounded like an idiot, and found it adorable.
"Andy," she sniffed as she extended her hand to which he took. A slight chill ran up her spine at the point of contact.
"I know. We've had a couple of classes together," said Tristan. It took Andy a moment to realize that he was right, and that she actually did know him from classes as Tristan Miller, a sixth year Ravenclaw student.
"Right, sorry," she apologized.
"Don't be. I'm not," he said with a smile, a smile that caused the hairs on the back of Andy's neck to stand up.
"I should get going," stuttered Andy.
"Yeah, me too," said Tristan as he looked at his watch.
"It was nice to meet you. Thanks for the handkerchief," said Andy awkwardly as she started to hand the piece of fabric back.
"You keep it," said Tristan has he held up a hand in protest. "Besides, it was my pleasure. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," said Andy as she started to head down the hallway.
"Andy?" said Tristan suddenly causing her to spin around quickly.
"Yes?"
"Whatever it is that you are going though, it may seem like the pain is unbearable. But give it time. It'll eventually go away and be replaced by something wonderful," said Tristan sweetly. Andy stared at him surprised at his words.
"I hope the next time I see you, well if I see you again, that it's on a happier note," stuttered Tristan. With that he nodded good-bye and left a slightly confused Andy in the hallway contemplating his words.
A couple of days later, the mood at school changed suddenly letting the students know that everyone was finally getting back into a normal routine. Most of the students seemed to be in better spirits as well, including Lily and Andy.
"Well you two look a bit more like yourselves," commented Karen as Andy and Lily took a seat at the table.
"Yeah, that whole mopping around didn't really suit me," said Andy in normal sarcastic tone. "How about you, Lil?"
"I'm afraid I still have a touch of it," said Lily a little unlike herself. Kelly, Karen, and Andy looked upon their friend helplessly; knowing the only thing they could do was reassure her that all was not lost.
"Morning, gals," said Felicia brightly.
"Morning Felicia," said Lily a little more chipper. Andy looked up and saw that Felicia took the seat right across from her.
"Hey, Andy," said Felicia a little awkwardly.
"Felicia," said Andy shortly. Everyone looked at the two girls a little strangely at the way they were acting. They just assumed that they had gotten into another one of there little fights that normally transpire through both.
"So Andy," said Kelly after a few moments needing a change in subject. "We all know why Lily here was all depressed out, so why were you?"
"Oh it was nothing," said Andy a little off. "I didn't do to well on my Transfiguration midterm and James wasn't much of a help either," she lied.
"What do you mean?" inquired Kelly.
"He and I got into a little bit of a row. But we worked it out," said Andy simply.
"How?" asked Felicia.
"Hung him upside down and used the tickling curse on him until he cracked," she stated.
"And did he?" asked Lily.
"Yeah, he did. And actually, I have Felicia to blame here for his rudeness," said Andy glaring at Felicia.
"Me? What did I do to Potter?" shrieked Felicia.
"Well, you are Blackie's girlfriend, so Potter has felt as if he's lost his best friend. So instead of talking to Black, he took it out on me," said Andy.
"Oops," said Felicia not really sorry at all.
"Yeah well, I straightened him out," said Andy.
"So that was the big deal? You were upset over a fight with Potter?" asked Kelly not sure if she should believe it or not.
"I said it was part of it," said Andy darkly as she glared at Felicia again. Felicia knew what she was talking about and felt a little uncomfortable under Andy's glare.
"Anyway…" said Felicia after a few moments, "so what is going on with everyone today?"
"Well, I thought maybe we could go and visit Hagrid today," suggested Karen. "We haven't done that in awhile."
"Yeah, I'm up for a visit," said Andy.
"Sorry can't make it," said Felicia.
"Why?" inquired Lily.
"I have to head down to Hogsmeade for a bit," said Felicia smugly.
"For what? You were just there not to long ago," said Kelly.
"Well not that it's any of your information, but I need to pick up some things for a surprise," said Felicia with a mischievous smile.
"What, for your lover boy, Blackie?" said Andy out of habit.
"As a matter of fact, yes. It's his birthday tomorrow," answered Felicia.
"Thanks for the warning," said Andy coldly. "I'll be sure to send him a nice card with a dungbomb attached to it."
Everyone looked at Andy in surprised. They knew for the past couple of weeks she was actually getting along with her former arch nemesis but apparently things have changed.
"Sorry, like I said before, old habits die hard," said Andy as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice. With that the conversations died down a bit too normal gossip heard through out the week.
"Ah, yes well…I guess we should be heading off," said Lily after a little bit noticing the time on her watch. "Have fun in Hogsmeade, Felicia."
With that four of the five girls left the Great Hall and started to head toward the entrance hall.
"Hey…what was that back there?" inquired Lily as she pulled Andy off to the side.
"Nothing," said Andy not really wanting to discuss what happened.
"That other thing you didn't want to talk about, it wouldn't have anything to do with Black now would it?" she asked cautiously. Andy gave off a deep sigh before giving her answer.
"Yeah, you could say that," said Andy a little uncomfortable.
"Another one of your famous fights?"
"Yeah, something like that," said Andy a little drawly.
"Okay," nodded Lily seeing that this was becoming a little uncomfortable for her best friend. "No more talking on the subject."
"Thanks," said Andy sincerely.
"ANDY!" said a voice from the stairway. Both girls looked up and saw a tall handsome looking boy with brown hair waving at them.
"Who's that?" asked Lily.
"Uh…someone I met the other day. Uh, you gals go ahead. I'll meet you outside," said Andy to her friends. With the girls nodded before the left Andy with the boy. But before they left, they gave him a look over to measure him up.
"Hello, Andy," said the boy a little out of breath.
"Hi…Tristan," said Andy cautiously, trying to make sure she had the right name.
"You remembered my name?" said Tristan a little surprised.
"Yeah, it took a moment. But I remembered, and you really didn't need to know that," said Andy a little embarrassed.
Tristan couldn't help but chuckle at Andy's blush. "Well, it's good to see that your sense of humor has returned. Not to mention your smile."
"I don't know about that," said Andy a little unsure.
"How are you really?" inquired Tristan.
"Better. Much better, than the other night," said Andy a little uncomfortably. She was still a little embarrassed to have someone see her in such disarray and acting such like a girl.
"Well that's good to know," said Tristan with a smile.
"Listen, I want to thank you for being there, and apologize again for my clumsiness," said Andy looking directly into his brown pools.
"There's no need to apologize. I'm just glad to know that you aren't sad anymore," he said sincerely.
"Well…thank you," said Andy a little surprised by his honesty. "That's very sweet."
"It's the truth," he said with a shrug. Andy couldn't help but smile at his actions which in turn caused him to blush a bit. "Uh…well I guess I should be off. I don't want you to be late with meeting up with your friends."
"Oh…alright," said Andy a little disappointed that he had to leave so quickly. She liked being around him. For some reason she felt a little bit at peace when he was around. They both said their good-byes and Andy once again started to head off onto the grounds.
"Actually wait, there's something that I wanted to ask you," said Tristan causing Andy to spin around and face him once again.
"I mean I'll understand if you don't want to, but…" he stuttered. Andy watched as he took a deep breath to calm himself a bit before he started talking again.
"I was wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime?" he asked slowly.
"You mean like a date?" asked Andy not sure if that was what he was asking.
"Umm…well…not if…"he stuttered.
"Because if it is, I'd be okay with it," said Andy quickly so as not to make him to uncomfortable.
"You would!" he said in amazement.
"Yes," said Andy with a smile. At that moment she looked up and saw that James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius were walking down the stairs toward the Great Hall.
"Great! Uh…so when did you want to meet up?" he asked.
"Whenever," said Andy as she quickly looked away from the group of boys.
"Lunch? Today?" he asked after a few moments.
"Boy you sure do move fast," joked Andy.
"If it's too soon…" he started.
"Lunch would be great. I'll meet you around 12:30 then?" she asked.
"Sounds good to me. I'll see you then, I don't want to make you any late than you already are," said Tristan allowing Andy a chance to leave.
"See you then!" With that she left the castle and ran to catch up with her friends.
That evening Sirius walked around the castle lost in thought. He kept replaying the events of the last few weeks in his head, but most especially the look on Andy's face when she walked in on him that day with Felicia. He'd seen that look on her eyes once before on top of the Astronomy tower when she told him about her family. That night he silently made a vow to never see that look in her eyes again. Of course at the time he meant it as a friend, but now…things had changed. He didn't know how or when, but he started to feel something more than friendship toward his former nemesis.
For months now, almost every thought he had was of her. He enjoyed spending time with her, listening to her jokes, and her laugh. But for some reason, it was her smile that captivated him the most. He couldn't get enough of that mischievous grin that came across her face when she was planning something James and Lily together.
He had never felt this way with any girl before. Not even with Felicia. Sure he liked spending time with her, but there just wasn't that spark there anymore from when they first started to going out. He knew what he had to do now was going to be different, but he hoped she would understand. 'Who knows maybe she feels the same way?' he thought to himself as he walked back into the common room. Once he was inside, he found Felicia sitting over in a corner writing something in her notebook.
"Hey Felicia," said Sirius. This cause Felicia to jump up in surprise at his presence.
"Sirius! What are you…I mean hi!" she said quickly.
"Can we talk?" he asked her softly.
"Sure," she replied while moving some of her stuff to the side to make room for him.
"Uh, somewhere in private?" he asked. Felicia gave him a quizzical look but complied with his request. With that the two of them headed out of the common room and into the rest of the castle.
Once they had found a deserted classroom on the seventh floor, Sirius had locked the door and placed a silencing charm on the door.
"So Sirius, what is it you wanted to talk about?" asked Felicia.
The next morning, Sirius was curled up in sound asleep in his bed. He enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday mornings, especially after the night he had.
"Hey, wake up mate!" shouted James as he threw a pillow at Sirius's sleeping head.
"Urgh…why should I?" asked a sleepy Sirius.
"So then you can receive your traditional birthday waking," chimed Remus. As the words began to register in his mind, Sirius quickly opened his eyes in time to find James, Remus, and Peter holding pillows in there hands and grins on their faces.
"Huh? Oh no!" he yelled right as the three boys began hitting him with their pillows, singing a little song.
"HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TODAY'S YOU'RE SPECIAL DAY. HEY! YOU'RE A RIGHT OLD PRAT AND TODAY JUST PROVES THAT! SO HERE'S SEVENTEEN WACKS FROM YOUR THREE PALS YOU'VE GOT YOUR BACKS! SO HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM US TO YOU! HEY!" sang the three boys.
"You little buggers!" said Sirius laughing. "Why do you do this every year?"
"Because you do it to us every year, Padfoot," said Remus simply.
"Happy Birthday mate!" said James proudly as he hand over a wrapped present along with the other two boys.
"Thanks guys," said Sirius brightly as he ripped open his presets to find a new supply of gags to use on others, along with some Quidditch books, and sweets.
The four boys joked around for a bit, until James noticed Sirius wasn't his usually self.
"Hey Sir, what's up with you? Usually you're bouncing off the walls about now," he said with a grin.
"I broke up with Felicia last night," said Sirius plainly. The three guys looked at each other in surprise at his confession.
"Ouch. Sorry mate," said Peter.
"Why? I'm not," said Sirius a little more like himself. "Don't' get me wrong, I liked Felicia a lot. I just wasn't happy enough with her, to be there for her like she wanted me to be."
"How'd she take it," inquired James.
"I'll tell you once the ringing in my ear stops," said Sirius as he cringed at the memory of last night.
"That bad huh?" said Remus.
"Yeah, I didn't really think she'd react like that," said Sirius as he got out of his bed and stretched out his muscles.
"Well what did you expect, Padfoot? You've been with her for…what is it now? Four months?" asked Remus. "Of course she's going to be attached to you."
"Yeah, well, what's done is done. I can't change what happened or how I feel. No matter how bad it hurt her," said Sirius.
"Yeah, well I'd just watch my back if I were you," commented James. "Knowing her friends, they're liable to do anything to cause you pain for hurting one of their own."
"I don't really think they'll get that extreme," said Sirius before heading off into the bathroom.
"Your funeral," said James.
The rest of the day went by very well. The boys spent the day playing a few games of wizard chess and pulling a few pranks on the Slytherins before heading off to do there homework that was due the next day.
That night while they were up in the common room, a sudden tapping occurred at the window next to them.
"What's that noise?" asked Peter. They then noticed the owl tapping at the window trying to get in. James got up and opened the window for the owl and noticed a package attached to its leg. He untied the string and gave the large barn owl a treat before it flew off again into the twilight.
"What is it?" asked Remus.
"Looks like another birthday present for Sirius," said James as he handed over the package to his best mate.
Sirius greedily grabbed the gift and took it over toward the fire place to have more room to open it. He ripped opened the wrapping paper and found a shiny black motorcycle helmet and a card inside.
Happy Birthday Sirius,
Thought this would help protect that over grown head of yours (and I mean that with love), when you take your little toy out for a ride. Thanks again for the little holiday, and for being there when things were well…not going so well in my life. I hope your birthday is one you will never forget.
Happy Birthday Sirius!
Love always,
Your Princess Sparky.
Sirius stared at the card for a few moments in amazement as well as the present. Since the moment he broke up with Felicia he thought it was possible that Andy might still have feeling for him after what had happened. He knew it was risk, but somehow he believed that there was a chance she might want to be with him.
He re-read the note over and over again making sure he wasn't seeing things.
'Wow…she…my princess? My Sparky? She called herself 'My Princess Sparky' he thought to himself. He looked over the words 'Love always' over again.
'Does she really think of herself as mine? Maybe I haven't screwed things up too much between us yet,' he thought. Within a few moments, he jumped up and started to head out of the common room.
"Hey Padfoot, are you alright?" asked James noticing the odd state his best friend was in.
"Huh? Oh yeah…uh…listen I uh…I just remember I have to go do something. I'll be back later," he said as he left the room.
"Hey are you sure you are okay?" asked James, but unfortunately Sirius didn't hear him.
"What do you think he's up too?" asked Remus.
"I don't know," said James as he walked over and picked up the present. "But whatever it is, I don't think it'll end well."
"So...tell me about yourself," said Tristan, as he and Andy walked through the castle in the dark after having dinner together in the Great Hall.
"Well, what do you want to know?" she asked not sure what to tell him.
"Anything you want to talk about. Family, friends, school...it doesn't matter to me."
"Well there's not really much to tell. I was born in New York, came to England when I twelve, and been at Hogwarts ever since," said Andy simply.
"What about brothers or sisters?" he asked as they walked hand in hand together.
"Well...you know I have a younger brother and sister who are twins. And I also have another little sister, Isabella. But she won't be coming to Hogwarts. She doesn't have any magic in her," said Andy with a small shrug.
"That kind of sucks for her doesn't it? I mean her big brother and sisters can do magic but she can't," said Tristan empathizing with her little sister.
"Yeah it does, but she's okay with it. She thinks its better that way because then she can beg us to do magic tricks for her. Even though the ones we perform aren't really magical. Just some crazy Zonko prank we got at Hogsmeade," chuckled Andy as they turned the corner to walk down the seventh floor corridor. "So what about you, Tristan? What's your family like?"
"Well...my dad works in the ministry office and my mum is busy taking care of my little brother and the manor," he said simply.
"Wow. I didn't know you had a little brother," said Andy a little surprised.
"Yeah, he won't be coming to Hogwarts until after I graduate. He can be a pain at times, but for the most part we get along," said Tristan with a smirk. Andy couldn't help but get grin back at him. Although she had only known him for a short time, she couldn't help but feel all bubbly inside when he was around.
"Well that's nice to know," commented Andy.
"What about you? Do you get along with your siblings?"
"Yeah, for the most part. The only one I don't really get along with is my sister Jen. We've always haven't seen things eye to eye. But now...things are slowly changing," said Andy a little carefully.
"Yeah, I get like that with my brother Jeff. So what other interesting facts should I know about the infamous Andy Starmenter?"
"Well for one thing don't call me 'infamous'. I'm just like everyone else. I've got my own problems and quirks," she said politely.
"Fair enough," he said with a nod. "Do you mind if I ask you a more personal question?"
"Depends. What's the question?" she asked with a mischievous smirk.
"Do you believe in finding love at a young age?" he asked a little afraid of what she would say. Andy took a moment to think about the question before she answered him.
"Sure. Anything is possible when it concerns matters of the heart," she said proudly. The two of them fell into a small period of silence before Andy spoke once again. "Okay I have a question for you. Have you ever had your heart broken?"
"No. Not really," said Tristan after a few moments of thinking quietly. "It's been burnt or hurt, but never really broken. You?" At that moment, Andy quickly hung her head and turned away at his words.
"I'm sorry. I've stepped out of line," said Tristan apologetically.
"No, it's alright," said Andy a little thickly. She was trying hard not to let her emotions get the better of her once again. "Yes. I had my heart somewhat broken once. It was a couple of days ago. Actually it was the night you found me. But I don't want to get into any specific details."
Tristan looked upon her with such sorrow. He couldn't quite understand who'd want to hurt this girl before her, but who ever he was he wasn't good enough for her.
"I'm sorry," he said after a few moments.
"Don't be. It was my own fault. I knew what I was getting into and I just let it happen," said Andy as she continued to mentally kick herself for allowing herself to feel for Sirius.
"Don't say that," said Tristan quickly.
"Why? It's true. He was with some other girl when I realized I liked him. And it took me seeing them together to realize that he's not available and not interested in someone like me," said Andy truthfully.
"Hey..." he said, taking her face into hands and looking deeply into her eyes. "Whoever this guy is, he's a fool to not realize that he let someone as amazing as you are slip though his fingers."
"Really," asked Andy as she looked up into his eyes.
"Absolutely," he said simply while still cupping her face in his hands.
Andy couldn't help but feel trap in his dark warm brown eyes. She felt her heart race as his face slowly inched closer to hers. She closed her eyes softly right as his lips touched hers in a soft kiss. Feeling a little bold, Tristan ran the tip of his tongue along Andy's lips for a brief second before she opened up to him. Air soon became a necessity to Andy as he breathlessly pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," gasped Tristan as he looked away from her. He didn't mean to kiss her, but for some reason he couldn't help himself.
"No, it's alright. I-I kind of like it. Actually I liked it a lot," blushed Andy.
"Really? So did I," replied Tristan with a shy grin.
Andy couldn't help but blush at the look he was giving her and bit her lip nervously. As she leaned into Tristan again for another kiss, all thoughts of Sirius fled her mind and were replaced with the warm feeling she felt while kissing the boy in front of her.
Unknown to either of them, a pair of gray eyes witnessed their kiss while standing in the shadows. As the new couple continued to be oblivious to the world around them, the dark haired boy turned and walked away, slowly with his head hung low and a broken heart in his hands.
Disclaimer: It's all J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the charatcter's I made up.