Chapter 9: A Stroke Of Luck
Unedited...
The six of them were sat in absolute silence in front of an expressionless Dumbledore, practically shitting bricks (A/N: my apologies, I simply could not come up with a better expression for this one). Ironically, Dumbledore could not have looked kinder, with his fingers pressed together and surveying them through his half-moon glasses, and yet, this was the most scared Isabella had ever been of him.
"Perhaps we should abolish all school rules...?" started Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as always, but his words felt like arrow heads to Isabella. Shifting uneasily in her seat, she dared to look up into his serene face. "Maybe then, we won't have so many of you breaking them?" he asked, while Fawkes flapped his wings enthusiastically. All Dumbledore had to do was laugh exuberantly, and this may as well have been a friendly 'catch-up' among friends; sadly it wasn't, and that made this situation even more intimidating. On the contrary, James and Sirius sat there, feeling very relaxed and at ease, making her want to slap their smug smiles off of their faces!
Sirius smirked cheerfully in Dumbledore's direction. "Can't say we haven't made that suggestion before, Professor."
"Do not tempt me to tell on you once again, Master Sirius," came a growl from one of the portraits on the wall behind them. "Your mother could not be more ashamed of you already."
"Mind your own bleeding...!"
"Sirius," said Dumbledore and that was enough to shut him up entirely. "Thank you, Phineas,"said Dumbledore quellingly. "I won't say though, that I'm not a little disappointed in you two this time," he said, looking specifically at James and Sirius. "Not with everything that's been going on outside this castle at least. You must understand that, as much as I admire your nerve and magical skills..."
"Surely, you don't mean that, Professor," Severus jeered from Isabella's far right, looking murderous at Dumbledore's comment.
Staring pointedly at him, he continued to talk as if nothing had interrupted him at all. "...what happened today was hugely cretinous, even for you two," he finished, finally getting some reaction from James. The look that Dumbledore was giving him seemed to literally make him look away in shame. "From what I gather, today's little adventure was about keeping your friends 'safe,' wasn't it?"
"But, professor..."
Dumbledore raised his hand and James fell silent once again. "Was it entirely necessary to have the party outside of your comfortable Common Rooms? Could it not have waited till daylight when dangers do not lurk the corridors, James? For someone who cares so deeply for his friends," Isabella noticed his finger hover in Lily's direction for just a split-second before he decided to innocently stroke little Fawkes who was cawing sweetly next to him, "do you not think it was, perhaps, a little foolish of you to opt for such a confrontation?"
"What danger could we possibly be in when we have you, Professor?" James suddenly asked as if that little fact would go without saying. Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up in mild surprise.
A slight smile cut Isabella's face. It was the first time she had ever heard James speak this way to anyone; she didn't know it was even remotely possible for him to idolize someone and revere them as much till this second. Above all, it warmed her heart beyond measure to see him ooze with so much respect for their beloved Headmaster.
"As flattering as that may be," said Dumbledore, smiling softly, "you must also realise that I won't always be present when danger presents itself, James." He sighed and wiped his glasses with his robe before he spoke again. "Times are changing, Darkness is coming. For all of us," he said, suddenly looking tired. "And that is exactly why I implore you to obey school rules... And be kind to each other," he said, this time looking at Severus, who looked like he was bursting at the seams in disbelief.
"Am I hearing this right?" Severus asked incredulously, quite unable to believe Dumbledore's choice of interrogation. "Are you actually implying that Potter, here, was right to have assaulted me in the middle of the night with a home-made spell? A spell not authorised by the Magical Law Enforcement?! Are you telling me, Professor, that Potter, here, will NOT face punishment for his flagrant violation of the Magical Code?!" He kicked his chair backwards and stood up now, glowering in Dumbledore's direction. "Not playing 'favorites' again, are we... Professor?" he sneered, making Lily look at him in complete horror.
"Sit down, Severus!" she hissed, while Phineas clicked his tongue imperiously. Even James and Sirius looked taken aback at Severus's outburst. Remus, perhaps, was the only person, apart from Dumbledore, who looked completely unperturbed by the evening's goings-on.
Dumbledore merely smiled and looked straight at Severus.
"Absolutely, not, Severus. On the contrary, I do plan on taking care of James and Sirius's, and on this occasion, Isabella too, complete disregard for school rules, but I shall not say how just now. I do, however, have one little piece of advice for you, dear boy. I hope we see more compassion from you in the days to come, something I know you're capable of, Severus," he said. His voice was soft, but no one could deny the sternness that rested in his eyes. "What happened at Professor Slughorn's party shall. Never. Repeat. Again." And that was enough to send shivers down even Isabella's spine—she swore she'd never want to be at the receiving of that glare. Not like that was affecting Severus in the least, though, because he was gladly glaring right back at their Headmaster without even so much as a flinch.
"That's all," Dumbledore finally said, still exchanging a million unspoken thoughts with Severus while the rest of them simply stared on. "Mr Lupin, as a prefect, you shall escort Mr Snape back to the dungeons while Ms Evans would do the honours with the Grydfindor students. And you would do well to remain indoors for the rest of the night."
And that was an order. All the children sprang up from their chairs at once and shuffled about to leave the room as quickly as possible before Dumbledore changed his mind and fed them all straight to the hungry dragon nestled away secretly in the castle's basement, when Isabella heard him clear his throat.
It was as if it was intended only for her to hear. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard him say, "I always knew you were not that shy, quiet girl from when you first joined Hogwarts." He was smiling broadly at her, making her get fully paralyzed from the neck up—she didn't know if she had to smile with him and hang her head in shame—why must all teachers be so bloody confusing?! "You had trouble written all over you."
"Brace yourself for more, Professor," Sirius added cheekily while giving her a nudge to the side. But the look that Dumbledore was giving the two of them only made her want to jump off the window even more—he always saw right through her!
~oO 20 Minutes Later...
"...unbelievable! And here I was, thinking you would have grown a BRAIN in all this time!"
"That's laughable coming from you! Had you been just a little more aware of everything around you, we wouldn't even BE in this situation now, would we?"
Sirius glanced tiredly at Isabella and rolled his eyes as the two of them continued to bicker behind them. In all honesty, Isabella was developing a headache too listening to them go at each other all the way from Dumbledore's office. "So, d'you know what happened to Vernon?" she whispered, trying her best to drown out their voices behind her.
"Sacked," he simply replied, making her shoulders slump in instant depression and disbelief.
"Bloody hell. The world really is coming to an end, isn't it?"
"Not sure about that, but for James it definitely is," he said, glancing momentarily at the quarelling duo behind them. Something about the way he said it conveyed a deep sense of worry and angst. And a second later, Isabella witnessed it coming true right before her eyes.
"And you know what, Lily? You're right. I've been wasting my time chasing after a ghost! I don't know WHY I cared so much about you when you don't care as much for your own goddamn self! And I hear you loud and clear every time you say I mean 'nothing' to you. I didn't want to believe it until tonight, but guess what? You got your wish. I won't bother you. Ever. Again."
And with that, he turned on his heel and stormed off past Sirius and Isabella, leaving behind a shocked Lily.
"Whoa, hang on. James!" Sirius said, trying to grab him by his arm, but James merely shook him off and continued to make his way to the Gryffindor tower.
Nobody moved for a long time as they all absorbed the aftermath of James's words. He wasn't kidding this time and that thought scared Isabella beyond expression.
"Happy now?" came Sirius's icy voice. He glared daggers in her direction, successfully plunging her into a pool of guilt that Isabella thought was slightly uncalled for.
"Sirius, you understand, right...?"
"No, Lily. You've gotten awfully nasty to him of late and I do not appreciate it, not in the least! "
"But... He... Sirius, he was starting to lose it entirely and you know it!" she pleaded. "He wasn't being reasonable! And neither are you right now!" she yelled at him, now almost close to tears.
"Well, forgive him for caring too much..."
"Bollocks! If he really did care for how I felt, he wouldn't have got me and himself into so much trouble! If he did care so much about my feelings, he'd know what ticks me off...!"
"And what about how he felt? Does that count at all in your universe?"
That shut her up. She merely stood there, spluttering and choking back truckloads of emotions (and her ginormous ego), nearly baking under Sirius's unforgiving frown.
"Patience runs out, Lily. Even for James."
That night, the world didn't come crashing in on just Lily; it seemed to have catapulted throughout the school. James retreating into a shell undoubtedly came as a shock to everyone so much that the rumour mills were abuzz a lot longer than usual (everyone, both seniors and juniors, wanted to know what had happened SO bad that James was perennially in a bad mood; of some of the bizzare claims made by students included one where Archie Pinestone from Hufflepuff declared James had contracted spattergroit from Lily!). Nothing seemed the same anymore: she hardly saw Sirius or the rest of the Marauders during dinner or in the Common Room in the evenings after that night, Frank seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth too (he was most likely fulfilling his duties as James's big brother during these trying times), Severus seemed to have drowned himself in complete depression, Lily's hand was seldom seen during classes, practicals weren't as interesting anymore, spell practice and the growing mountain of homework didn't feel as nerve-wracking, and funnily enough, even the approaching Christmas holidays failed to cheer the fifth-years up as much. It was shocking how ONE person could affect the mood of an entire school to this extent...
"So, what plans this holidays?" Ryan asked Isabella one morning, as they strode around the bustling lanes of Hogsmeade. It was their last Hogsmeade trip before they broke off for Christmas holidays a week later. His question though, instantly brought a smile to her face.
"Oh, it's going to be pretty exciting, really! The girls have decided to spend Christmas at my place this year!" she said, hopping excitedly on the spot. "Lily said she'd come by on Christmas morning while Clay and Mary would arrive two days in prior itself! Alice, though, might drop by after Christmas... I hope," she added, silently praying that she does decide to come after all.
"That's bloody brilliant!" he said, chuckling heartily at the wide smile on her face. "It's a shame though, 'cause, I was planning on inviting you over to my house for Christmas actually," he said, taking a large bite off the chicken leg he held in his hand. "Everyone's going to be there, including a few of them seventh-year lads."
"You're not joking? Why, that's horrible!" she said, instantly crestfallen at the thought that she'd be missing all the fun. "Oh, I'd have loved to be there so very much!" she grumbled, making him laugh even more.
"Well, next time I plan something like this, I promise to ask you first!" he said, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Besides, we still have plenty more holidays before I graduate, don't we?"
"Hardly any, if you ask me," she said breathily, while battling a whole bunch of butterflies in her stomach, making him break into laughter once again.
"Good Merlin, I haven't come across anything cuter than you ever!" he said, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug that she gladly accepted against the biting cold.
Over the last few weeks, Isabella had grown very fond of Ryan and, the fact that he was so into her seemed to excite her every single time. Life was perfect - for now at least...
~oO December 22, 1975
"Oh, no, isn't this getting a bit too evident for words?!" Calum Harper practically whistled as Ryan skittishly led Isabella into his compartment that was now bursting with several sixth and seventh-years students. "Making it official, then, eh?" he asked, nudging Ryan teasingly on his side.
"About time, don't you think?" Ryan replied with a laugh, making her blush terribly. And even through the glass door, Isabella could see all the eager faces of his friends, waiting to induct her formally into their giant group (it would've been fuller had the Marauders been here too...). Clarissa jumped up from her seat and bounded merrily towards Isabella as they pushed past Calum and squeezed into the overflowing little compartment.
"I can't thank the stars enough! I've had it up HERE with this bunch of morons for so long, it's not even funny!" she laughed while throwing her hands around her fellow Quidditch-teammate.
"Oh, I'd gladly knock every last one of them through the hoops if you want me to!" Isabella joked back, feeling over the moon at the reception she was getting from this bunch. Several boys shifted about and made room for the new couple, making her feel both awkward and special at the same time.
"So, Williams, be honest..." started Daniel Willets, Ryan's best friend, sporting the most wicked smile ever, "what did it take Ryan to finally extricate you from the clutches of your girl gang?!" He could hardly contain his mirth as he spoke those words.
"Yeah! We call you lot the 'Queer Quintuplets'!" roared Robert Mathews, a seventh-year student, making the whole compartment break into snickers.
"Honestly! You never see them apart ever and now, it's making me wonder too," added Oliver Wharton, Ryan's other best friend and Isabella's teammate. "How did he manage to single you out?" he asked, his tone dripping with fake curiosity.
She looked at Ryan who seemed mighty embarrassed of his thick friends. Smiling reassuringly, she said, "Well, all he had to do was ask!" she giggled and gave his hand a tight squeeze while the boys gave appreciative nods in Ryan's direction.
"Wait, hang on a minute, does that mean you'd say yes to anything I ask?" Ryan quipped, instantly triggering a volley of wolf-whistles from everyone around them.
"Don't push your luck, Evantrap!" Puck Oleus, Ryan's classmate, called out cockily, making everyone burst out laughing while Ryan dramatically hung his head in mock disappointment.
The merriment in their compartment continued on as the train sped past beautiful snow-covered plains and mountains while the children either entertained themselves with a fine game of Wizard Chess and miniature Quidditch or chatted away till their throats hurt. Around half-past noon, most of the extended group of sixth and seventh year boys finally started to trickle out, leaving the compartment all to themselves.
And right in the middle of Isabella's fourth game of miniature Quidditch with Clarissa, Daniel and Oliver was when the door to their compartment burst open and in strode a haggard-looking Frank Longbottom.
"Hey, Izzy!" he said, almost out of breath. "Thank Merlin! Took me... SO long to find you!" he wheezed while nursing a stitch to his side.
Isabella frowned at his red face.
"Frank? What's happened? Were you running?" she asked, her hand still suspended in mid-air.
"Izzy... You need to come with me. It's serious..."
"Sirius?! What's happened to Sirius?" she said, springing up to her feet without even the slightest thought. Her stomach jolted uncomfortably as she mulled over a million different possibilities of what could've happened so bad that even Frank looked so worried.
"Well, see for yourself," he replied, shrugging shakily. And that was all she needed to hear. Without even giving her new friends a look back, she dashed out of the compartment and jogged after Frank, ducking and hurtling past bodies on the way. "Is he hurt, Frank?" she asked anxiously. "Some prank gone wrong? Oh, he's such a pillock!" she said through gritted teeth.
"You can say that again!" he replied over his shoulder. She thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face as he said it, but brushed it off thinking it was her imagination. He continued to lead her to Merlin-knew-where, before finally stopping dead in front of a silent compartment. Grimacing slightly, he turned towards her and spoke very slowly, "Now, Izzy, please don't freak out too much when you see him. It's not as bad as it looks, I swear," he said, eyeing her widely.
Her heart was beating so fast now that, she was positive she'd faint any second now. "Good Griffin, Frank, just let me in!" she yelled, pushed him aside and yanked the door open.
Before she could even register what was happening, a jet of water hit her straight in the face with so much force, she almost tumbled backwards and hit the wall behind her! Screaming in utter and complete panic, she held her hands above her head to brace herself from the ice-cold water to no avail.
"What is this? STOP IT!" she screamed, still being jetted at with brutal force. "I am so going to KILL you Sirius Orion Black!" she howled over and above the sound of the water and the irritating laughter that surrounded her.
"Sirius, honestly. That's enough, mate!" someone said, and she couldn't thank them enough for finally coming to their senses.
"Alright, alright, fine!" she heard him call back to Frank amid uncontrollable laughter, before finally mouthing the counter-spell. The water stopped almost immediately and that split-second was enough for her to launch her sopping wet body straight on top of Sirius and knocking him to the ground entirely.
"You're such a TWIT, Sirius!" she screamed, finding every ounce of energy left in her body to punch him as hard as possible.
"Ow! OW! Stop it, that really hurts!" he yelled back, writhing and twisting in pain as she continued to unleash her fury on him.
"Yes! Go for it, Izzy! Hit him more! You know he deserves it!" Remus cheered on, making her that much angrier.
"What the hell was that for?!" she bellowed, punching him even harder now.
"It was a PRANK! Let me go! HELP ME!" he screamed dramatically, despite not feeling a THING.
"ARGH! I HATE YOU, Sirius!" she yelled one last time before shoving him backwards. "Why ME?! Why don't you play your stupid pranks on someone else, you knobhead! Why is it always me?!"
"And yet you fall for it every single time?" asked James, looking just as scornful as Sirius.
"Of course, she does!" Sirius guffawed and high-fived Peter on the side. "It's why I target her every single time! Works like a charm, eh, dearie?" he said, pouting mockingly at Isabella.
Feeling humiliated and stupid beyond belief, she chose not to answer and simply stood up, splattering the floor with a pool water around her, while the boys roared with laughter behind her.
"For the record, though, I asked him NOT to do it, Izzy," Remus said, half-laughing and half-apologetic and started to dry her off with his wand.
"To be honest, though, I wasn't expecting her to fall for this one at all!" Sirius said, still laughing coldly at his own stupid prank. "I'm still wildly taken aback, really!"
"I came because I was worried!" she screamed, feeling her temper rise all over again, as she heard the doors of several adjoining compartments open to see what the ruckus was about. "I was scared something happened to you, you complete arsehole! I left without even telling Ryan and now I feel so bloody stupid about myself!" Several eyebrows shot up as this piece of information hit them all.
An awkward silence fell around her even as she Remus continued to suck out all the water from her sweater and off the floor. The boys weren't laughing anymore; if anything, they actually looked a little ashamed (and a little bit impressed).
"Izzy, come on, it was just a prank," Frank started, albeit looking mighty regretful.
"Don't start with me, Frank," she mumbled.
"Told you it was wrong of you to not give Williams a shot here," James guffawed from the side, eyeing them both teasingly. The statement hit not just Isabella like a bolt of lightening—it seemed to affect Sirius too. "Too late, though, she's someone else's girl now!" he shrugged in fake disappointment, completely oblivious to the death glares that Sirius was giving him. To Isabella though, this statement had brought back memories of the party in the Common Room several weeks ago and, much to her frustration, made her feel just as horrible as she did that day.
"I've never hated you more," was the last thing she said to Sirius before storming out of that rotten place.
~oO King's Cross Station, London
From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Sirius was standing right outside the girls' compartment while Lily, Mary, Claiborne and Alice hauled their trunks and prepared to greet their families, waiting right outside their window with eager smiles. She knew quite well that Sirius was only waiting for her in this utterly 'subtle' fashion, and she was in NO mood to talk to him; not in the slightest! She realised she was nervous as a ferret only when she dropped ten thousand Chocolate Frogs and about thousand more Bertie Botts' from her carry-on bag.
Alice was the first to haul her trunk out and leave the compartment. As soon as she disappeared behind the door, Isabella heard her shout, "Hey Sirius! Happy Christmas in advance! Write to me over the holidays, okay?" to which Isabella heard a flirtatious "Of course! Everyday, if I have to!" reply from the moron.
Claiborne and Mary followed Alice and she heard pleasantries being exchanged between them and Sirius too.
"Izzy, hurry up! Everyone's left already!" said Lily, drawing out her own trunk from under the seats.
"Coming right up, Lily! Go on ahead, I just have to stuff all of this into my bag!" Isabella called back, while shoving her school robes and the other sweets messily into her trunk.
Lily nodded and exited as well, and, this time, Sirius's head bobbed in and out of view from inside the compartment. "Sirius?! Why are you waiting outside our... Ohhh..." came Lily's teasing voice. "Waiting for someone, sweet pea?" she giggled. "Sort of," came the hushed voice of Sirius before he added, "But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you, now, could I?" he laughed. "Happy holidays, and please, please, please promise to write to James over the holidays? He er... He's still brooding and this could cheer him up...?" he asked expectantly. "I'll think about it," she replied, giving him a cursory hug goodbye. "More importantly though, do NOT mess things up in there," Isabella heard her say to Sirius. "Handle her with care," she whispered, sporting a wide grin. Sirius grinned back and hurriedly whispered a, "Thanks for the tip," before patting her on the back one last time. Isabella had to flee the spot and it had to happen NOW! She hurriedly yanked her trunk out to make a quick exit only to realise Sirius was blocking her way.
Seeing him standing there brought back a flash of memories from when the two of them had first boarded this train, five years ago... And how much had she changed since then... She realised she had lost oodles of weight since then, had grown a lot taller now, her hair was longer, straighter and so much nicer, her face was less pimply and... she actually looked and felt very pretty...
"Izzy, hey... You er... Got a minute?" he asked nervously, his hands still resting on the doorway.
Isabella sighed. "Look, Sirius, if this is about what you said more than a month ago, I'd say save it. You don't have to apologise for being honest," she said bluntly, making Sirius roll his eyes and mutely throw his hands up in exasperation. "Now, if you don't mind, I really have to get going. Mother's here already..." and tried to get past him.
"Whoa, hey, Izzy!" he said, swinging his hand around her waist and twirling her back into the compartment. "Izzy, come on! Don't do this, don't just run off and go into hiding again, I can't handle it! We've hardly SPOKEN to each other in the last two years! I don't want things to get worse between us because I said something that I didn't even MEAN!"
She flared up instantly. "Excuse me? What do you mean you didn't mean what you said that day?!" she repeated, eyeing him dangerously. Her eyes were simmering with mingled expressions of anger and betrayal as she inched closer to him. "Of course, you meant what you said, and you know what? I'm totally OKAY with that!" she yelled. "What I am NOT okay with, however, is you trying to defend yourself now! Why are you tying to make peace with me when you couldn't even stand being mentioned in the same sentence as me the other day, eh?! Why are you talking to me now when no one's around?! What is this really about, Sirius? What, does the star of Gryffindor not want to be even remotely associated with the least popular girl in our year...?!" she cried.
"WHAT?! What do you mean, least popular...? Isabella Grace Williams, you're all the entire SCHOOL is talking about right now! Heck, do you even know how many blockheads fancy you...?!"
"OH MY GOD, stop it! Do I LOOK like I care about that?!" she screamed, and the two of them ended up glaring at each other for a bit. "You know what, you'll never understand, forget I said anything!" she said, forcing herself to be calm. "I can handle it, Sirius, I can handle being despised by everyone..."
"Goodammit, you're the exact OPPOSITE of that..."
"SHUT IT! I don't care about the others, Sirius, I am talking about YOU!" she shrieked, and this time Sirius was truly rendered speechless. A wave of guilt crashed into as he seared under her glare. "I am talking about being despised by you. I am talking about feeling worthless, and being an embarrassment to YOU..." she said, as her lips quivered uncontrollably. "It hurts a lot, I'm not going to lie, but I will live I can assure you that..." she said, making him gape back helplessly.
"That's unnecessary..." he began, but shut up when he realized she wasn't listening to a word of what he's saying.
"Are you really that ashamed of me, Sirius?" she finally asked him, coming straight to the point, making him protest defensively.
"NO, Izzy, come on! Everything's coming out sounding so wrong...!" he exclaimed, rubbing his temple. "Izzy, look, I... It's hard to admit, but I know I have been mean to you on several occasions... I can get carried away when I'm with James but, look... Even if I don't say it, there's truth at the bottom of it all. You are, and will always be one of my best friends ever, and NOTHING will change that!" he said, making her turn away exasperatedly. "Izzy, no, look!" he said, grabbing her by the hand and turning her around to face him. "I'm dead serious when I say this. I miss you, Iz. I really, really miss you..." he finally said in a low voice. He continued to hold her gaze as he slowly let his hand slip down her arm before taking her hand in his. Her eyes welled up instantly, but she managed to hold on. "I miss having you around, I miss talking to you. I'm sorry about how I acted, but, I really did not mean to hurt you..."
"Except you did..." she said, battling a particularly painful lump in her throat. "Especially, since... God, I can't believe I'm actually saying this out loud," she said, tearing her eyes away from him exasperatedly.
"Saying what aloud?"
"It doesn't matter, Sirius," she said, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Not after what happened that day, anyway," she said, tugging at her trunk and dragging herself out one more time only to be stopped him once again.
"Isabella, would you stop being so cryptic for TWO seconds and actually tell me what in the world's going on?!" he yelled, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her towards him yet again. He glared at her with a mingled expression of worry, anxiety and curiosity all rolled into one.
She closed her eyes and sighed loudly, cringing with embarrassment. "Sirius, the reason why Lily teases you so much with me is... is because I..." she paused to look him straight in the eye before adding, "it's because I actually feel all that for you..." she said, with a shaky voice.
Sirius's jaw dropped as he continued to stare blankly at her.
A tense moment passed when neither of them spoke. He continued to stare at her as waves and waves of shock washed over his body. "What...?!" he managed to breathe out at long last, making her cringe even more.
"It was always you, Sirius..." she said, breaking down entirely this time. "Not Ryan, not anyone else but you. Despite all the times you've been mean to me, despite all the hurt, I could never stop feeling this way about you ever... I've LOST it entirely, I know..."
"No... No, you've not..." he said quickly. "Izzy, come on... You..." he started, but couldn't find the right words to say to her just yet. "Since... When though?"
"Sirius, look," she said. Her lips trembled as she spoke. "We can't be friends anymore. It's not fair to Ryan, really, 'cause, if there ever comes a time when I have to choose between him and you, I always end up choosing you. It happened even today...! He doesn't deserve that, he's really, really so very nice... I hope you understand..." she said, as a fat tear trickled down her face.
Sirius stood there staring helplessly at her with his hands on hips as she picked up her trunk and dragged it around him get to the door. But just as she was about to get out, "Wait, wait, wait, Izzy," he said, jogged past her and stopped at the doorway, blocking her way yet again. Sighing heavily he looked at her, the sadness more than evident in his face. After a moment's pause, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a tiny pink phial. Placing it on her palm, he spoke in a quiet voice. "Brewed this especially for you..." he said, not quite having the courage to meet her eye. "Thought I'd give it as your Christmas present this year... Felix Felicis... The next time you feel down and unlucky, think of me?" he said, heavily. "I love you, Izzy..."
Another fat tear trickled down her face, as she looked straight at Sirius. "Just not the way I do, I suppose..." she said, and a light breeze swept over them.