She quickly grabbed her wand and dug it into his neck. He towered over her by a foot, but he looked weak, easy to be fought with. It didn't look like he had a wand on him, but she wasn't so sure about it. The muggle news said he had a gun – did he really? Was that a lie that they were told?

It took all of her might not to run away.

"Eliza," he breathed. She had no idea if her name was said in relief or disdain. Was he happy to see her?

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Eliza hoped that her voice was not trembling too much, but it felt weak and flat.

"Going to call the dementors on me, Eliza?" he looked down at her menacingly. "Would you do that?"

She could. It would be quick to stun him and leave him for the dementors. All of this would be over if she did. He would be whisked away out of her life and all of this would be over.

That was what she should be thinking. But Eliza's doubt crept in. It was the only thing that stopped her from hitting him with a hex.

"Come on, do it. Hex me," Sirius said. "I'm very much harmless."

"Are you?" Eliza lowered her wand but kept her eyes on him. He was not moving a muscle, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He was nervous. "Answer me one thing and one thing only… are you here to kill Harry?"

"What?" Sirius frowned.

"Are you here to kill Harry?"

"Why would I want to kill Harry?" Sirius demanded. "He's my godson!"

"What do you think it looks like!" she exclaimed. "Just answer it you big, old drama queen."

He barked with laughter.

"Keep quite!" Eliza looked around. They wouldn't easily be spotted, but the area was still very much open, though there wasn't a person, portrait, or ghost around to tell the world where they were. "Talk."

"I'm here to commit the crime I was imprisoned for –" Eliza pressed the wand harder into his neck.

"Merlin's beard, Shafiq, let a man breath! IamheretokillPettigrew!" he rushed.

Eliza let go of him.

It was too good to be true. All of those floating thoughts that haunted her, the missing puzzle pieces. They were falling into place strangely. She let go.

Sirius gasped for air. His cough sounded excruciating.

"Jesus," tiredness crept into Eliza's bones. It dawned on her how late it was. She needed her bed. Maybe this was all a dream. Perhaps she had too much firewhisky at the Three Broomsticks.

"You… you believe me?"

Eliza took in a sharp breath of cold air. She was going to regret it, alright.

"Explain. Now." she quipped.

"Not here," Sirius nodded. "In the woods –"

"Do I look like I want to go into the woods with a convicted murderer right after you ambushed me in the dark? Honestly, where are you manners?" Eliza's cheeks felt flushed with anger. Perhaps it was nervousness. Or both. "Besides, Remus will notice –"

"He's here too?" Sirius looked excited. "Wait, what do you mean he will notice –"

"Forget it. Explain now, or leave."

"Your room, where is it?" he asked. "Or a broom closet will do. You like those."

She shot him a dirty eye. They weren't too far from her room, but she was unsure if the castle would let Sirius into her room. Remus had one foot in her room once, but it never caused a reaction as it would do when a boy tried to enter the girl's dormitories.

"The classroom."

Sirius turned into a dog. It was not wise for him to walk around, of course. She turned around again, mourning the cheesecake she wished to eat. It took every fibre of her not to rush off and pretend everything was normal and to not look at Sirius, who was ducking through the corridors in a way that evaded sight—no wonder he had come in unnoticed.

I should tell Dumbledore. I should tell Dumbledore.

She opened the door to the Muggle Studies room. She didn't let him go further into her office or room, as that felt too much. She cast a muffliato charm.

"Spill," she crossed her arms.

Sirius took her in.

"You look finer than the day I last saw you."

"That's quite easy, fairly. But explain for goodness –"

"It was Peter who betrayed James and Lily, not me," Sirius stated. "Not me!

"But the muggles!"

"All Peter," Sirius said quickly. "You remember, don't you? I told you I was going to check up on him."

"Yes, I remember," she couldn't forget.

"Exactly," he got closer to her. "And when I couldn't find him and heard they died, I went after him. Peter was the one who blasted up the place, he made it seem like it was me. He cut off a finger."

Eliza vividly remembered the cut-off finger. She had been the one to put it in the box and give it to Peter's mother. It still didn't make sense.

"Do you believe me?" he begged. Eliza didn't realise she had zoned off. "Eliza?"

"What are you doing here then?"

"He turned into a rat and has been living as an animagus for years."

"Now that's just –"

"He's here. In Hogwarts. The red-head's rat! That's why I keep trying to get into Gryffindor tower – that bastard knows I am here," Sirius growled.

Eliza blinked. "Okay, now that's just crazy."

"You believe the beginning but not that?"

Her head was rushing. What he said was exactly what she had thought all these years, but she couldn't dare believe it was true.

He had been innocent all this time. But why did he have to act like he did when he was taken off to Azkaban? Why did he have to take on Peter alone?

She felt his hand gingerly touch her arm. Eliza felt the inherent need to punch something. To let out all of her anger and frustrations.

"Eliza?" Sirius asked.

She rolled her hands into a fist and hit the corner of his shoulder. It was more of a pound, or like a small child that was having a tantrum.

She hit him again.

"Stupid. Stupid. STUPID," she felt the tears run down her face. "Why didn't you tell me before you decided to play hero –"

"I… I didn't. I wasn't sure if…I didn't think to –"

"You never do," she felt hysterical. "All this time I thought I was crazy for even trying to fight for your innocent –"

"You fought for me?"

"Of course I did, you idiot!" she wiped the tears away. "I loved you."

"You saw me off to Azkaban. Never visited." He accused, but something had flashed in his eyes.

"Jee, I wonder what losing nearly everything does to a person," Eliza said sarcastically. "You're not the only one who got hurt."

"I'm…" he trailed off. "I'll make this right. I promise."

He held her, and Eliza found herself sobbing. He smelt terrible and looked terrible, and she could feel just how bony he was from being on the run. There were new tattoos on his body that hadn't been there before. But still, it felt nice to cry with him there.

"You can't bring back the dead." She felt extremely lightheaded. Too much crying and hitting Sirius had taken all the energy out of her.

"But I can give it meaning," he cupped Eliza's face and brushed the tears away. "I'll make it right. I promise."

"What are you –"

A big knock on the door led to Eliza's office.

Sirius looked towards the door, alarmed that someone could walk in.

"I gotta go" Sirius growled. "He'll pay."

Before Eliza could protest, he pressed a rather sloppy kiss on her cheek. Then, he immediately turned into a dog and left the room just as Remus opened the door.

"I thought you were going to get cheesecake… are you alright?" Remus looked at her in shock. It hadn't even been twenty minutes since he had last seen her, and she had been completely fine. Eliza's knees buckled.

It was too much for her right now.

When Remus carried her over to the hospital wing, that was when the news of another break-in came. This time, he made it pass the doors and into the boy's room. Nearly killing Ronald Weasley.

Or was it… was it the rat he was trying to kill?

Nobody could get out of Eliza what had happened, but Professor McGonagall was quick to make the assumption that Eliza had seen Sirius, which made the Gryffindor break-in even worse.

"Yes," Eliza let out.

"There, there," Poppy said in a sad tone. She poured her a sleeping draught. "You were never a fighter. Just a healer."

February 1977

Eliza avoided Sirius those weeks after Slughorn's Christmas party. They did not mention the kiss, which was easy when they were barely around each other. She ignored him in Ancient Runes, though she noted how he would look across the room to her every once in a while, and then he'd be out snogging the next girl he saw.

She saw Remus in the library, where he would sit across from her and they'd work in ignorant bliss. But she would run off citing a lie as soon as Sirius or James arrived.

It was nothing to him; why should it mean anything to me?

Then, Eliza was walking back from practice when she headed a corner. Two distinct voices were shouting at each other. Eliza wanted to keep walking. It was not her place to interrupt childish fights.

"You keep Evans out of this!" James had yelled.

"She will never like you, Potter!" Severus sneered.

"Oh and she should like you?"

She slowly looked around a corner. It was three against one. A coldness settled in her stomach. Mulciber, Snape, and Regulus.

What were they doing going three against one?

Eliza could not bring herself to walk forward. If she did, she wouldn't know what would come her way later. So she watched. She watched from the darkness as the three duelled. James held out. He hexed Regulus within a second and disarmed Mulciber. The blow, however, came from Snape. There was a flash of light, and before she knew it, James was knocked down, his face placed onto the ground. The three boys rushed away.

"Blimey, what kind of hex – oh, Shafiq," James looked more dishevelled than ever. There was blood on his clothes from his bleeding nose.

She looked on in terror.

Eliza said weakly. "We're not supposed to fight each other."

"Well your lil' fiancé doesn't care," James groaned. "Care to help me or will you just stand there?"

Eliza rushed through every counter jinx she knew. Snape was good at creating spells, and it seemed as though James could not use his legs. The easiest way for her to fix this was…

She cleared her throat and spoke an incantation.

"Wiggle your toes for me," she instructed James. He nodded.

"I can wiggle them."

"Good, now slowly get on your feet."

She dug into her robes and produced a small sugar tablet.

"What's this?" James looked at curiously. "A potion to poison me?"

"No, dextrose," she let out weakly. "In short: sugar. I take it for an energy boost."

He eyed it at first but then popped it in his mouth. "Thanks."

Eliza helped James to his feet.

"How come you didn't step in? Or is it an unspoken law to not fight Slytherins?"

"I…" Eliza couldn't think. Why didn't she?

"I can't fight."

James shook his head. "Everyone can fight. You just need to learn."

Eliza didn't argue with that.

"You should stop picking fights with Snape. He is dangerous," Eliza warned. "He's been inventing new spells ever since… well, ever since that fight with Lily. Not sure what he thinks it will do."

"No spell will get Evans to fall in love with him," James said sternly. "I'll make sure of that."

Eliza sighed. "Do me a favor, P- James," Eliza decided it was best to use his first name. "Stop trying."

"What?"

"All of this –" she gestured to him. "The extra disheveled hair, the snitch. Stop trying to impress her and work on yourself."

"How is that going to help?" James looked bewildered. "Are you saying I should be…me?"

He sounded like it was some wild concept he had never heard of before. Perhaps it was the first time that someone had told him that.

"No one likes a person who bullies," Eliza told him. "And right now, you only look like a bully to her. Not the Quidditch captain, not how brilliant you are at DADA or charms. A bully."

"B-but – "

She held up a finger.

"That's my advice as a her best friend."

They walked, though James limped a little from having his legs jinxed. So, he leaned on Eliza as they walked to the library, where he was supposed to meet Remus, Peter, and Sirius.

"What did you do to Prongs?" Peter accused.

"I got to fight three Slytherins," James said proudly. Sirius looked between James and Eliza, an unreadable look on his face. "Your dear brother was one of them. Eliza here was just there to fix up the mess."

"You shouldn't be here," Sirius said. "They'll be looking for you."

It stung. He must think her dumb for not stepping in and helping, but her hands were tied. She was safe as long as she was in Hogwarts, but goodness knew what they would do to her once she left the grounds.

Eliza said under her breath. "I'll take my leave. Potter, I'll see you on the pitch next week."

She walked out, holding her head as high as she could. She knew how to look okay. It was what she had to do every time she walked into the Slytherin common room, and anyone who wanted to join the Dark Lord was there.

Keep your head down; do not talk. That was her tactic. Avoid any conflict if possible.

It worked. Usually, it did.

If only she didn't care too much about Sirius Black. It would make things a lot easier.


Is that - gasp - a callback to the beginning of the story where Eliza stops Ari from hurting things in anger but does it herself? DUN DUN DUUUNNN

Song of the Day: Until I Found You by Stephan Sanchez

Thank you to everyone who is reading the story and I hope you look forward to the next chapter. I've also cross-posted this to Wattpad.