Hpov
I dragged Sirius to the nearest empty class room and didn't let go until I forced him into a seat and glared down at him. I was so angry I didn't know what I was going to do. What had he been thinking starting such a dangerous duel and letting himself get so out numbered? I wasn't sure if I wanted to hit him for being so stupid, or hug him knowing that he was ok.
"WHAT was that all about?" I almost shouted at him.
"You heard what he called you." He said furiously.
"So?"
"So?" he asked incredulously. "Hallie it's disgusting. Aren't you angry?"
"It's just a name."
"No it's not!" he said and I was surprised that he was actually shouting at me. Never in all my years at Hogwarts had I ever seen Sirius this angry. "It's not just name Hallie, it's so much worse."
"That still doesn't give you the right to just attack people!"
"So I was supposed to just let him get away with that. Sit there and do nothing?"
"Yes!" I said furiously.
"Why are you yelling at me?" he asked incredulously. "He's the one you should be angry with."
"Well I'm angry at you!"
"Why?" he started indignantly. "I was trying to protect-"
"I don't need protecting Sirius!" I said feeling as if I wanted to shake him, to rattle his stupid little brain around until he understood it wasn't me I was worried about. "I don't give a damn about Lucius Malfoy, or anything he says, but I do care if you go and throw yourself into the every dangerous situation you see just because you can't control your temper. I don't want to be patching you up every five seconds just because you don't think!"
He glared at me, but it seemed as if his anger had reached a point beyond words. He simply looked at me, his fists shaking slightly as words continued to fail him.
There were so many things I wanted to say, but none of it seemed to want to come out right. Words and emotions continued to swirl in my mind, confusing me until I couldn't take it any longer and put my head in my hands. How did he do this to me? What was it about him that made everything so complicated? Why couldn't I just ignore this?
I tried several times to sort out my feelings but had no success. Nothing made sense with him, why did he have to be this way.
Eventually, I looked up and sighed.
"There are always going to be idiots like Malfoy out there Sirius." I said taking a deep breath and forcing myself to calm down. "You just need to let it go."
"No." he said coldly.
"Excuse me?" I asked angrily. Sirius had never looked at me like this before, in blatant disregard for what I had to say.
"I said no." he repeated standing up, towering over me in his anger and I stepped back, alarmed at his expression. "Hallie, I will never let it go. You don't understand, someone like you could NEVER understand what they're like, how they think about you. If you could, you'd be just as angry as me."
I took another step back and felt my back hit the wall and Sirius stepped closer. I felt breathless, and even a little scared. I'd never seen Sirius like this before, ever. All traces of the arrogant playboy were gone leaving the boy in front of me. Who was bitter at his family and hated their entire world.
"You don't know what he would do to you if he had his way." He said quietly. His voice was shaking and it sounded agonized. I remembered the stories in the papers about the muggle borns disappearing and found months later, dead.
"I think I do." I said softly realizing he was very close.
My breath caught in my chest as he put his hands on my shoulders and looked down at me, his eyes so intense I couldn't hold his gaze.
"Then you should know that I'm never going to let that happen."
"You sound like an idiot." I said looking down. I didn't like seeing him like this. I wanted it to stop.
He dropped his hands from me and I looked up, but he was already walking away running his fingers through his hair in a frustrated motion.
"You don't understand." He said quietly.
"I'll be fine," I said as he leaned on a desk still refusing to look at me. "But you can't do anything about people like him, and getting into duels with a governor of the school is just asking to be expelled. Don't be stupid."
"People do stupid things for the ones they care about."
He then walked out into the corridor without looking back.
When Sunday rolled around, I didn't bother going into Hogsmead. The weather was cold and rainy, not to mention I would have been alone. Everyone seemed to have a date, Lily would be with James, Alice was with Frank, Remus had asked Patricia for a second date, and Sirius always had some random girl attached to him so I didn't want to be the awkward third wheel. Instead I decided to spend my time in the empty common room, curled up under a blanket on the couch next to the fire and catch up on some of the latest articles published in 'The Healing Hand,' my favorite medical magazine.
"Do you ever stop working?" Sirius asked dropping on to the sofa next to me.
"This isn't work." I said looking up from the pages and at him. He was leaning casually against the cushions looking bored, but as always, very handsomely so.
"It looks like work." He said then glanced at the title of the article I was reading the rolled his eyes. "The effect of unicorn tail hair treated to a full lunar cycle on patients being cured for spattergriot. That sounds really interesting Hallie."
"It's very interesting." I said stubbornly and he raised an eyebrow. "It's an excerpt from James Roana's latest medical guide."
"James Roana?" he said frowning as if he were thinking hard. "That name sounds familiar."
"I'm not surprised, he's a very famous Healer. He's the pioneer wizard for experimental research in medical potions."
"Yeah, that's not where I know that name from." He said flatly, obviously still trying to remember. "If it's so interesting to you, why don't you just buy the book instead of just reading an article?"
"It's way too expensive." I said shaking my head. "I thought you'd be in Hogsmead. Couldn't find anyone to go with you?" I asked smirking and he rolled his eyes.
"Please." He muttered. "This is all part of my punishment from what happened Friday night. I can't visit Hogsmead until the end of the term. If I wanted a date all I'd have to do was snap my fingers and girls would come running."
"That would be an interesting thing to see." I said and he chuckled. "So what, is attracting girls like magnets your super power or something?"
"What's a super power?" he asked sounding puzzled.
"You know, special abilities and powers that heroes have. Like in the comic books how Superman can fly."
Evidently this didn't help because he looked just as confused.
"You've never heard of Superman?" I asked in shock.
"No, is that some sort of muggle thing?"
"Yeah." I said frowning. Being friends with Lily, I was used to being able to talk about a mix of things from both muggle world and wizarding one, fairly easily with little or no confusion. I often forgot just how different they were, but it was moments like these, talking to someone who was raised outside the muggle world, I realized how rarely they overlapped. I'd had these moments with Alice, but it was especially weird with Sirius. He seemed to have made it a point to teach himself about muggle culture as much as he could to annoy his parents, so even if he couldn't contribute much to our conversation when it turned to muggle topics, at least I knew for the most part he had an idea of what I was talking about. Very rarely did he look at me like he was looking now. He seemed utterly lost.
"You'll have to show me sometime." He said obviously amused at my expression.
"I guess so."
A moment of silence passed between us.
"So what are you doing over break?" I asked curiously. I had just realized I'd never actually seen Sirius outside of school, and I wondered what he got up to outside of class. The thought of seeing him anywhere besides Hogwarts was just bizarre. "You usually go to the Potters don't you?"
An image of Sirius and James sitting in footsy pajamas like little kids in front of a Christmas tree popped into my brain and I had to resist the temptation to laugh.
"Not this year." He said looking a little disappointed.
"Don't you live with them?" I asked confused.
"I did, but I moved out when I was seventeen. I've got my own place in London now. If I don't just stay at Hogwarts that's where I'll end up."
"So you'll be by yourself?" I asked trying not to sound sorry for him. I knew he wouldn't like it, but still, who wanted to be alone on Christmas?
"It's not big deal Hallie." He said shrugging. "The Potters did invite me over for the holiday, but I figured, since they were vacationing James might like the time alone with Lily."
"Oh yeah I forgot about that."
"What about you, you're going to the concert right?"
"Yeah, but now that Lily's out I've got an extra ticket." I said disappointedly, but then was struck with a sudden idea. "Do you want to go with me?"
"What?" he asked.
"Do you want to go to the concert with me?" I asked again.
He gave me a suspicious look, as if he wasn't sure if I were joking or not. "Are you serious?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I've got an extra ticket, you like AC/DC and I don't want to have to choose between any of my brothers." I hesitated and then recklessly added. "And I can ask my Dad if you can spend the break with us."
He gave me such a strange look that at first I thought I might have insulted him.
"I mean, only if you wanted too." I added quickly. "I can understand if you wouldn't want to, I just thought-"
"Stop talking Hallie." He said laughing. "I'd love to."
"Alright it's settled then." I said smiling. "You'll come to my house. But I have to warn you about my family."
"What about them?"
"Well," I said scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. "I guess the simplest way to put it, is that they're insane."