If Love is a Game...

Chapter Two
At Hogwarts

"Is she alright?"

"Of course."

"Is she seriously injured? Are there any long-term injuries?"

"Well-"

"Oh, gods, this is my entire fault! I should've gotten her out of there after Malfoy talked to her - hat sniveling prat. I should've known if he got too close to her, Narcissa Black would hex her for sure. If I would've just gotten her out of there! Sirius will never forgive me!"

"As I was saying before you interrupted me...there are no lasting or serious injuries to her. She'll be just fine."

Krystyna slowly opened her eyes. The two voices were fading in slowly. Everything was blurry at first, and she'd forgotten everything that had happened. She didn't have a clue where she was and who the voices belonged to. Finally, everything had come in clearly. She looked over to her right and saw that she was in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, Madam Pomfrey standing nearby. Everything that had happened impacted at her at the same time. She jolted up quickly.

"Remus! Where's Remus?!" Krystyna cried out desperately.

"Miss Melanie, calm yourself," Madam Pomfrey hushed calmly, trying to force Krystyna to lay down again. "Mr. Lupin is right over there."

Krystyna wouldn't let Madam Pomfrey lay her down so she gave up. Krystyna looked over and saw Remus sitting up. He wasn't bloody and didn't have bruise or scratch on his face. It was like he hadn't been in the blizzard of hexes at all. Krystyna looked at herself only to find that she, too, was wound free; she was healed completely.

She was, however, very confused. The last thing she remembered was trying to get to the nurse's office in the front of the train and all those words echoing in her mind. The last word she remembered thinking was "Sirius". She looked back at Remus.

"How'd we get here?" Krystyna asked quietly.

"They took us ahead of the train to Hogwarts because Madam Tyson wasn't able to take care of us," Remus answered, "so we haven't missed the Sorting or anything."

"Wh-what happened?" Krystyna questioned.

"You're really lucky one of those Slytherins didn't get to you first," Remus simply said.

"First?" Krystyna was confused.

"Sirius found you first," Remus told her.

Krystyna was completely amazed. "But, he was in the nurse's office," she whispered.

"That's right - was in the nurse's office," Remus said, grinning broadly. "I guess I should tell you the whole story Sirius told me. It's quite long actually."

Krystyna nodded her head slowly, interested in how Sirius Black had saved her. After all, it was her fault that they were in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts.

~*~

"Go on, Black, I'm done with you," Madam Tyson said. She made a motion for Sirius to get out of the infirmary. "You're completely healed."

The Prefects had already left, and now, Sirius was finally able to leave, but he didn't want to leave Peter alone. He was finally awake.

"C'mon, may I please stay with Peter, Madam-?"

"Mr. Black, I suggest you get a move on," Madam Tyson said firmly. "Do you want to get in trouble?"

"It's okay, Sirius," Peter sighed. "I'll be okay alone. I'm sure James in missing you too much and tired of being alone. You know, Remus and Krystyna had to take care of the Slytherins probably."

Sirius's brain jammed for a second when he'd heard Krystyna's name and Slytherins in the same sentence.

"Yes, right, okay then," Sirius sighed, grabbing the handle. "See you soon, Peter."

"See you soon, Sirius," Peter said. Sirius opened the door and walked out. Madam Tyson shut it behind him. Sirius looked at the empty hallway. He'd never seen it in this view before. He guessed it'd take him a few minutes to find the right compartment with James in it...alone.

As he walked down the walk way, he wondered how Remus and Krystyna were handling the Slytherin situation. His mind sauntered off to wonder how the slimy git Malfoy was treating Krystyna. If he did anything - anything - to hurt Krystyna, oh, he'd pay all right. The slimy git would wish he was never born. Of course, Malfoy was already going to pay for hurting him. Yes, the one time Malfoy had gotten the better of him and hexed him hurt, and now, he was going to pay the price for it.

Then, his mind meandered to Snape. He fumed with anger as he thought of Snape staring at Krystyna. He'd pay, too, just for being there.

His mind trailed off to his cousins, Narcissa and Bellatrix. Sirius knew that Narcissa hated Krystyna because Malfoy liked Krystyna, not her. He grinned as he envisioned Narcissa's red face when Malfoy talked to Krystyna, but envisioning Malfoy talking to Krystyna made his grin fade quickly.

How he hated Malfoy, the big headed, idiotic, brainless, evil, narking, little prat! He could just picture Malfoy hanging on the chandelier in one of the hallways, crying for help, his wand helplessly on the ground beneath him, and in pain. Ah, how sweet revenge would be. He could see it now.

Sirius's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a dark figure on the ground. At first, his mind had told him it was a dead animal, but, seriously, who would carry an animal that big the Hogwarts Express? He rolled his eyes at his mind's silly conclusion. As he got closer, he realized it was a person. He got closer; it was a student. He walked faster and was closer; it was a girl. He began running until he was standing over the girl student; it was Krystyna Melanie. He freaked out.

"Krystyna!" he gasped. But Krystyna didn't move or respond. He pushed her on her back and saw that her eyes were closed. There was a fresh bloody scratch on her left cheek. She'd clearly been caught in a flood of hexes. Sirius panicked. He felt her cheek; she was stone cold, but he could see her chest rising and dropping--she was still breathing.

That's when he heard the noises. He looked up and saw a few Slytherins opening compartments and shouting. He began to panic. He looked down the walk way and saw James's compartment.

Then, he wondered were Remus was. Did he make it? Was he still with the Slytherins? Was he conscious? Was he hurt badly? Was he still alive?! He had to act fast. He hoisted Krystyna up onto his shoulder and carried her to the compartment. He kicked on it with one foot. He looked down nervously and saw the Slytherins getting closer. James opened the compartment.

"Sirius!" James said loudly.

"Sh!" Sirius hushed, walking in. James shut the compartment door. Sirius laid Krystyna onto the seats. "Madam Tyson let me out. Peter's still there. I found Krystyna, blacked out, in the hallway. The Slytherins are checking each compartment for some reason. Where's-?"

"She blacked out?" a familiar voice questioned. Sirius looked over. Remus, his friend, was sitting in a seat, laying his head and body weakly against the wall.

"Remus, you're not dead!" Sirius almost shouted, sounding relieved. "I didn't know if you'd got away or what! And I can't really say that you're okay. Yeah, she passed out from what I'm thinking. She must've got hit with a lot of hexes. But why? What happened?"

Remus weakly explained what had happened.

"Figures, I should've known that narking git would get Narcissa all worked up about it and cause her to hex Krystyna," Sirius growled. Then, he looked over at Krystyna, who hadn't woken up. "She'll be all right, won't she?"

No one said anything. They were all silent.

"I-I'm not for sure," Remus finally whispered. "But-" He was cut off by a loud yell from the compartment two doors down. They all looked at the door.

"C'mon, Sirius," James said, frowning, "if they want to find them, they'll have to pass through our wands first."

Sirius stood up, hesitated, and then looked back at Krystyna's motionless body. "Can I borrow the Invisibility Cloak, James?" he asked. James looked back at his friend.

"Certainly," James said. He dug through his trunk hurriedly and pulled out the silvery and silky Invisibility Cloak. "Here you go."

Sirius quickly put it over Krystyna and looked back at James. "You know what Malfoy would do if he saw her in her," Sirius muttered, pulling his wand out of his pocket.

James nodded his head. "Yes, I do," he sighed. "Brilliant move there, Padfoot."

They grinned and pointed their wands at the door. A few seconds later, the compartment door was wrenched open; Malfoy and Snape stood there.

Malfoy sneered mad with anger when he saw Remus sitting down. "You-" He was quickly interrupted when he found himself face-to-face with Sirius's wand. Snape had said nothing because he'd found himself cornered with James's wand. They didn't have their wands ready.

"I suggest you leave before we decide to hex you for everything you two've done," James growled.

"Yeah, leave before we change our minds about hexing you until you're more than unrecognizable after you attacked Remus and Krystyna," Sirius added.

"Who told you we hexed Krystyna?" Snape breathed.

"REMUS, YOU IDIOT!" Sirius bellowed.

"Have you seen her?" Malfoy asked, rather thickly.

"Leave her alone or you'll wish you were never born!" Sirius yelled.

"Now that we've settled our nice little chat, you can sod off somewhere that we don't care." James scowled, poking Snape's nose with his wand very hard. Snape backed away from James' wand, rubbing his nose. Malfoy backed off.

"Fine, we'll pay the Mudblood, Evans, and her little friends a visit," Malfoy growled.

"Stay away from Lily, you prat!" James shouted, pointing his wand at Malfoy. Snape pulled up his wand, but Sirius already had his wand pointed between his eyes.

"Not so fast, Snivellus," Sirius muttered. Snape didn't move and began to sweat.

Remus's head began to spin. His vision was going blurry and the sounds began to fade in and out. He wasn't going to stay conscious for long; the hexes were waving a battle on hi,m and they were quickly winning.

"You just leave her alone or you'll be a dead man," James threatened quietly.

"Whatever," Malfoy sighed, pulling back. "Let's go, Severus."

Malfoy and Snape walked away and James shut the compartment door slowly. Sirius pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of Krystyna; she was still out cold.

"Maybe I should go check on Lily and make sure Malfoy and Snivellus don't do anything to them," James sighed, staring at the door.

"Don't worry, Prongs; they've got Lorena Fawcett in there," Sirius sighed, turning around to face James..

"What's so special about her?" he asked curiously. Then, he remembered and a grin slowly crept onto his face. "Oh, yeah, she's Malfoy's cousin and..."

Sirius grinned feebly, too. "Yeah, you should remember her hot temper; we've been the object of her fury a few times. That's why she got hexed by Flint that one time. He said something to her; she hexed him; and he hexed her back. Quite funny now that I remember it," Sirius explained. "Anyways, you've seen her get into duelling matches with Malfoy; she doesn't get along with him - at all. She'll blow up when he enters their compartment. Trust me; you'll hear when they enter."

Remus began to nod off.

At the exact moment, they heard something like an explosion. "HOW DARE YOU ENTER THIS COMPARTMENT WITHOUT KNOCKING, YOU INCOMPETANT, IDIOTIC, NARKING, BARKING MAD, STUPID, MORONIC ARSE!"

Remus jolted to his senses quickly. Still, Krystyna hadn't woken up. James and Sirius peered out of their compartment. Everyone else had done the same. Many had thought that someone had gotten a Howler, simply because the voice was louder than anyone thought was possible for a normal person's voice to be. It was the funniest scene the two friends had seen in a while.

Snape was on the floor huddled in a corner. Malfoy was pressed against the wall flat, completely horrified, while his cousin, Lorena Fawcett, ranted on and waved her wand quickly and very threateningly. She pointed it at Malfoy's chest and kept poking him, making him go flatter against the wall even more. Lily Evans and Sara Whitfield were peering out of their compartment.

"IF YOU EVER DO THAT TO US AGAIN, YOU'LL BE WISHING YOU WERE DEAD BEFORE I'M FINISHED WITH YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME, MALFOY! WHAT ABOUT YOU, SNAP?! LEAVE US ALONE OR YOU'LL BE PRAYING THAT YOU'D NEVER DONE ANYTHING HORRIBLE OR BAD IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE! NOW GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I HEX YOU TO NEXT YEAR!"

With that, all of the Slytherins in the area scampered away as fast as they could. Snape had got on his feet and took off. Malfoy even ran away. Lorena took a deep breath.

"Sorry for disturbing you," she apologized very formally and very quietly compared to her screams. She went back inside her compartment and shut the door. Everyone muttered something and went in there compartments. James and Sirius had forgotten about everything for a second and laughed. James shut the compartment door.

"Did you see that, Moony?" James laughed. "Classic! I'll never forget it!"

But Remus didn't respond.

"Remus?" Sirius asked. They looked back and saw the Remus had passed out because of the hexes. "I'll get the nurse!"

With that, Sirius ran out of the compartment quickly.

~*~

Krystyna couldn't figure out what to say. She'd never been in a predicament such as this one. She struggled to find the right words. She couldn't say what she really felt. She felt very embarrassed - no, more than embarrassed. She felt traumatized.

What would Lily, Lorena, and Sara say? Would they laugh? Maybe. Would they cry? No. Would they gasp? Maybe. Would they stay silent? No. Would they not believe her? No. Would Sara ask if she liked Sirius now? YES.

Krystyna couldn't find any right words. "Wow, he was really brave." It was all she could find, and she slapped herself mentally. She sounded so thick. Remus grinned.

"It must be hard to find the correct words; I understand," Remus sighed. Madam Pomfrey came back to them, black Hogwarts' robes in her hands. She threw them their robes.

"C'mon, you can leave now," Madam Pomfrey told them.

"Really? Already?" Remus asked in disbelief. He got out of bed.

"Yes, already," Madam Pomfrey said. She pulled the curtains around both of their beds. "But you've got to hurry."

"Why?" Krystyna asked, changing into her Hogwarts' robes behind the curtain.

"The train hasn't come in yet," Madam Pomfrey explained. "Professor Dumbledore wants his best Prefects to help unload the students at the station. A carriage is going to take you to the station where the Express stops."

"Best?" Remus questioned slyly, pulling the curtain away to walk out. His eyebrows arched.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey said, keeping her calm, "most likely the best. I've never seen two people keep Hogwarts in control and solving a lot of things. Although all of that, even the best of Prefects can't catch everyone..."

Remus knew exactly what Madam Pomfrey meant. James, Sirius, Peter, and even sometimes he always ran amuck and he did nothing about it. Perhaps Dumbledore would've liked Remus to control his friends' "bad habits", but he never did. It was most likely why he was chosen to be a Prefect. Krystyna walked out from behind the curtains, fully dressed in her Hogwarts' robes.

"Now, off with you two!" Madam Pomfrey ordered. They walked off and outside. They found out quick enough that rain was drenching the place. They found their carriage and hopped in. They hadn't talked just small-talk for a while so they did on the way to the station. They talked about their summers and their families.

Soon, they landed by the station and could see the lights of the Hogwarts Express closing in. They hopped out of the carriage and were immediately covered with rain again. Their robes were soaked and stuck to their skin, but they didn't care. How many people knew what it looked like to see the train coming at night when it was raining? Not many.

They laughed together in the rain.

~*~

Lily pressed her face against the window as she felt the train slowing down. Lorena and Sara were sitting down.

"I hope Krystyna's all right," Lily said worriedly.

"Lily, sit down before the train stops," Sara hissed. "You know it stops su-"

They heard a screeching noise and felt the train quickly halt. Lily was thrown back into her seat with an "oomph!" while Sara and Lorena giggled. They looked out the window and saw a surprise; Krystyna and Remus were already standing in the rain waiting for the first years to come out. Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, was standing there, too. The three girls ran out of their compartment, accidentally bumping into some Ravenclaws.

"Sorry!" Lily gasped as she pushed her way through the crowd.

"Lily, wait up!" Lorena called. She and Sara weren't able to catch up with Lily because of the large crowd. Lily ran out of the Hogwarts Express and to Krystyna in the soaking rain.

"KRYSTYNA!" Lily screamed over the rain.

"LILY!" Krystyna yelled back, slightly mocking her. They both jumped up and down and laughed.

"You're alright," Lily said happily.

"Yes, thanks to Black," Krystyna muttered embarrassedly. Lily saw her turning red.

"What?" Lily shouted. She doubled up with laughter. "Oh, I can't believe it! That's hilarious!"

She couldn't control her laughter - even in the rain. Sara and Lorena walked out. Sara put her robe over her head and ran to catch up with Lorena.

"Merlin, it's pouring so hard!" Sara said loudly so her friends could hear her. "How can you stand this, Krystyna?"

Lily and Lorena had put their Hogwarts' robes over their heads too. Krystyna hadn't bothered. she was already completely drenched; it didn't matter now.

"It's no big deal, Sara," Krystyna told her, the blush finally going away.

"Guess who saved Krystyna when she passed out?" Lily said, controlling her fit of giggles. Krystyna rolled her eyes away and tried to occupy herself by telling a group of first years where to go.

"Who?" Lorena asked.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" Lily giggled loudly. Sara and Lorena burst out laughing; the blush came back to haunt Krystyna again. She looked back at her three friends.

"It's not that bad," she muttered.

"Then why are you blushing so much?" Sara sniggered. "I've never you so red - and in the rain too!"

"You're overreacting," Krystyna said, waving her hand dismissively.

"If we're over reacting," Lily snickered, "then you're over blushing."

Krystyna spun around to face her friends. "Fine, I give in!" she shrieked, very flustered. "I'm terribly embarrassed that Black saved me from a horrible time with that stupid git, Malfoy! It's even more embarrassing that he was so worried about Malfoy or Snape seeing me that he had Potter put something over me to hide me!"

With what, Krystyna had no idea; Remus hadn't told her that it was James's Invisibility Cloak that she'd been hidden with. After all, she'd realize that Remus had been letting James, Sirius, and Peter sneak past the trouble with them.

"Really?" Lorena, Lily, and Sara howled with laughter.

"Yes," Krystyna admitted. It was too embarrassing for her. She looked back at the train, but then, she wished she would've taken the embarrassment with her friends.

At the exact moment she looked at the train where people were exiting out of, Sirius Black, James Potter, and a fully healed Peter Pettigrew walked out to greet Remus. It wouldn't have been so bad if Sirius hadn't looked her way. They locked eyes for a second, but then James and Peter looked over. She grew red and, oddly enough, he did too as James and Peter roared with new-found laughter. They broke their gaze.

"Oh, you'll have to thank him!" Sara squealed giddily. Krystyna groaned and put her face in her hands, too ashamed to let her friends see her cherry blushed face.

"But seriously," Lily said, trying to calm down as she put her hand on Krystyna's shoulder, "you'll have to thank him sometime. I mean, he practically saved your life - and Lupin's."

Sara couldn't control their giggles; and Lorena looked ready to roll on the ground.

"Maybe you should thank Potter for helping Black save your best friend," Krystyna muttered. It was Lily's turn to blush as Lorena and Sara had another uncontrollable fit with laughter. Krystyna grinned at the small payback she'd given Lily.

"I guess I deserved that one," Lily sighed, trying to stop herself from blushing any further.

"Yeah, I guess you did," Krystyna snickered, grinning broadly. They all laughed. "I guess I should go, er, thank Black now."

She turned, rather embarrassedly, to walk towards the group of four Gryffindor boys. Oh, what fun Sara, Lorena, and Lily were going to have with this. They'd never let her live it down.

"Hey, Krystyna!" Lorena called as she walked away slowly. Krystyna spun around and stared at her friend. "Call him by his first name! It'll be more thankful and proper!"

Krystyna smiled apologetically and nodded her head. She spun around, her mind still spinning wildly. Call him by his first name. Ha! Did Lorena know how many ideas that would give him? Many, she was sure. And she knew Lorena knew. But she was, after all, correct. She had to be thankful and calling him 'Black' wouldn't sound right.

She dug her hands deep in her pockets and felt a lot better when she found her wonderful wand still safely tucked away in her pocket. She was burning so much that she forgot she was freezing and her robes were sticking to her skin.

"Hello, Melanie," Sirius said as he saw Krystyna slowly making her way to them.

"Hello," she muttered back.

"I, er, see you're doing much better," Sirius said, flushing now. She felt calm to know that he was feeling just as flustered as she was. Of course, James, Peter, and Remus sniggering in the background made him feel more uncomfortable than she did obviously.

Was he like this with every girl? No, he certainly wasn't. She remembered him from last year when he'd make girls fall head over heels while remaining his amazing calm and cool while girls fell apart. She could just picture that proud grin he'd given her after he'd finished with his Transfiguration O.W.L.s. He was calm then...or was he? He could never look at her straight really. He couldn't maintain his cool when he tried talking to her like Potter did with Lily. It was funny enough, but Sirius's mind seemed to jam like Snape's when he talked to her. She dismissed it.

"Yes..." Krystyna didn't really know what to say. And those sniggers were starting to make her feel very uncomfortable. "Er...thank you for helping me back there...on the train. You didn't have to do that and I...I really appreciate you for helping me get away from Malfoy and Snape when I was, er...unable. Um..."

She slapped herself mentally for sounding like a completely brainless git. She never stammered or stuttered for words - never! And she was starting now? When she was talking to him? What more ideas could she possibly give him?! Krystyna took a deep breath.

"Thank you...Sirius."

It couldn't have been more embarrassing. James, Peter, and Remus doubled up with laughter; they couldn't seem to stop. Potter put his hand on Sirius's shoulders to keep himself standing; Remus almost fell to the ground; and Pettigrew started coughing, he was laughing so hard. Sirius's cheeks were so red - and he was so awestruck that Krystyna had just called him by his first name and not his last. He forgot what he was about to say, but quickly found a smaller alternative to his winning speech.

"Um...you're welcome," Sirius replied very embarrassedly, no doubt. "I just...uh...didn't want Malfoy or any of the other Slytherins to...er...hurt you, yeah."

Krystyna tried her best to stop from blushing, but it was near impossible. She just smiled, muttered another "Thanks", and bowed her head, staring at him. She quickly scurried away to her best friends, whom were also laughing themselves to death like Sirius's friends.

"Happy now?" Krystyna asked her friends. "I called him 'Sirius', Lorena."

"Oh, joy, I'm sure he was very surprised!" Lorena laughed.

"C'mon, let's get on a carriage without anyone else on it," Lily said, walking away. Krystyna caught up with her while Sara and Lorena lagged a little behind, laughing non-stop.

They hadn't even started the Sorting yet and she was already more humiliated in her entire lifetime. What a fun year this was going to be. Even with that thought, Krystyna couldn't help but grin as she remembered Sirius's flustered looking face. She pulled herself up in the carriage and was off.

~*~

James, Remus, and Peter were still laughing when they got onto the carriage. Sirius got in the carriage and sat down. He looked out of it to let his mind drift away from his best friends' laughs. James put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, we're terribly sorry to laugh on you like this, but Melanie's never - ever - spoken to you without a harsh tone," James chortled.

"Yes, and because she called you by your first name!" Peter squealed, still laughing.

"You know, up until this point, none of us have ever heard her speak like that to any of us," James said thoughtfully. Then, he looked over to Remus and added, "Well, she's spoken to you nicely, Moony, but Padfoot? I thought I'd die of laughter."

That brought on another roar of laughter.

"Yes, go ahead and laugh, Prongs," Sirius muttered, unable to laugh along with them. Usually he laughed with them about how he'd loose his cool around Krystyna, but right now, he couldn't. She thanked him. Wow.

"You see, unlike you, Padfoot, I can control my calm with Lily," James noted, nodding his head.

"That's because she's never spoken to you in an unnerving embarrassment and would-be-calm voice," Sirius said shrewdly. "You've never really, er, saved her life before, have you?"

James thought for a second.

Peter shook his head for James. "He hasn't," Peter answered.

James glared at Peter as little as he could. "She's not the type who needs to be rescued," he said loftily.

"Krystyna usually isn't either, but everyone has their times, right, Moony?" Sirius, James, and Peter sniggered again, but Remus only grinned.

"You'll get it next week, Padfoot," Remus said lowly. "You'll see."

"Have we decided what we're going to do next week?" Peter asked, excited.

"Nope, we haven't had time to speak to each other properly," James sighed. "I suppose I can think up some ideas before I go to bed tonight..."

"Oh yeah, that's right, you have to go to bed early tonight," Sirius said, now grinning broader than ever. "Looks like our Prongs is growing up faster than us, mates."

"What?" Peter asked, very confused. "Why do you say that, Padfoot?"

James's cheeks were turning slightly red, and it was the most unusual sight to see. He wasn't one to easily embarrass.

"What is it, Sirius?" Remus asked curiously.

"I see you didn't owl them after all, James," Sirius sighed. James didn't respond, but got even redder. "I know why though."

"What is it?" Peter questioned enthusiastically, barely able to sit still.

"James got an extra letter...from Hogwarts," Sirius explained. "Looks like all that brain of yours in there and all those leadership skills McGonagall was talking about earned you something over your trouble-making antics. James Potter has been elected Head Boy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Peter laughed while Remus grinned.

"Congratulations, James," Remus congratulated.

"I didn't know you were being interviewed to be Head Boy!" Peter snickered, rolling with laughter. "You never told me!"

"He didn't tell me either, the sly dog," Sirius said, patting his friend's shoulders. Then he stopped. "Oh, wait, I'm the dog. I forgot." They laughed again.

"Well, I knew he was because I was the one making sure no other student entered the room where the sixth years were being interviewed," Remus noted. "But I didn't know if James made it or not."

James perked his head up and stared at Remus. "Then, was Melanie guarding the entrance to the interviewed Head Girls?" he questioned.

"Yep, she was," Remus said, a grin playing on his tired face.

"Does she know who made Head Girl?" James asked quickly.

Remus made a thoughtful face. "You know, she actually did find out, and she even told me who the School Governors finally chose," Remus sighed. "I don't know how she found out." But there was a strange grin on his face.

"Who made it?" James asked, sounding anxious.

"You can wait to see when Dumbledore announces it after the Sorting," Remus said.

"Remus!"

"You can wait."

James sighed, frustrated, but knew it was for the best. His anticipation would make it better if it was someone pretty and would still make it better to see his other friends if she was someone horrible. That was Remus for you, but that's what was cool. He never let down.

Remus moved closer to Sirius and Peter. "It's Lily Evans," he whispered. They silenced their sniggers. James hadn't heard them at all; he was too busy staring out of the carriage at the dark line of Hogwarts coming into a clearer view.

~*~

Krystyna sat with her friends at the Gryffindor table. She was sitting by Lily with Lorena and Sara across from them. Lucky for her, they weren't talking about that little "incident" on the train or the little "chat" with Sirius Black. Instead, they were having a great conversation, which Krystyna gladly joined in, about what they did over the summer and what they got for good grades.

Sara's parents were rich, after her father did a lot of quick thinking and cashed in a lot of money the last summer. Although Lorena's parents were obviously rich, being closely related to the Malfoy family, she was not spoiled because of her behavior.

Krystyna's parents were also rich because of her father's job in the Ministry. She didn't quite get along with her parents because they had the same ideas of "Mudbloods" and that stuff. They didn't even approve of her friendship with Lily. They also didn't like the fact that she was in Gryffindor and not in Slytherin like the entire family.

Lily was, of course, born in a Muggle family so Lorena and Sara didn't know what her presents were really. Krystyna did a little, but only because she'd taken Muggle Studies for one year.

Professor McGonagall stood up near the front and unraveled a scroll. Silence descended over the Great Hall as the Sorting began.

"Hartman, Amanda!"

A girl with bright curly blond hair stepped forward out of the crowd. She tripped over her hand-me-down-looking robes, which were too long for her, and sat on the stool, her cheeks a crimson color. McGonagall sat the old, tattered, brown Sorting Hat on her head, but before it could speak it fell over the little girl's face, being that it was much too big for her head. The girl pulled it off of her face, her face even more red, and sat it a little further on her head so it wouldn't fall over her face again.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted into a loud cheer as the girl quickly took the Sorting Hat off, pulled her black robes up so she wouldn't trip on them again, and ran to an empty seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Simpson, Ryan!" A tall boy with short, black hair slowly made his way to the stool. He sat on it and waited for the Sorting Hat to be placed on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" You couldn't tell if the boy was mad or sad or happy or joyful as he slowly made his way to the Hufflepuff table; it was mixtures of expressions all together. Professor McGonagall continued to call out names of the First Year students.

Krystyna's eyes had somehow begun to roam around the Gryffindor table. Professor McGonagall and the Sorting Hat kept rattling on during the Sorting, but their voices were beginning to fade away. It was Krystyna's gift, being able to block sounds away. Her eyes scanned the room as the cheers became softer and duller. She couldn't understand why she was looking, really. She didn't even know who she was looking for. Or did she? She told herself she didn't, but that didn't make sense. There was one name that came to mind, but that had to be wrong. She shook it off.

But then, her eyes rested on that one person, and it had to be...right. She panicked in her mind and blushed unconsciously. She tried to take her eyes away as she watched him give the girl next to him his charming smile, but she couldn't. She felt jealous of that girl really. Jealous? How could she feel jealous of her? Krystyna told herself that she felt sorry for that girl, certainly not jealous. She told herself that she wasn't wishing that she was in that girl's seat; compliments being piled onto her; those eyes staring at her; and that smile flashing at her. She told herself that she didn't want to be staring into those pale, handsome, gentle, caring - stop it! But those eyes...

Krystyna instantly took her eyes off of Sirius Black, and the sounds immediately came back to her. She tried to keep her heavy breathing to a minimal so Lily, Lorena, or Sara wouldn't see; luckily they didn't notice because someone else got into Gryffindor.

Thank goodness for that kid getting into Gryffindor, Krystyna thought with relief as she clapped.

After all of the first years had gotten Sorted, Professor Albus Dumbledore stood up and silenced filled the entire Great Hall. Students of all years looked up at their humble headmaster of Hogwarts - the best headmaster of Hogwarts to some people...

Remus felt a pang of guilt collide with him. Dumbledore had let him in when no other headmaster of past Hogwarts would have, and Remus had betrayed his trust too many times to count. He'd argued with himself whether or not to tell Dumbledore that he'd led James, Sirius, and Peter to become illegal animagus when they'd found out that he was a werewolf.

A chill ran down his spine. What would Krystyna say if she ever found out that she'd been working side-by-side with a werewolf for two years now? He felt guiltier every time he saw he, wanting to tell her, but never would. He had too many secrets floating in his head - too many he'd like to have.

"It is now time to announce the new Head Boy and Girl," Dumbledore said loudly. Sirius slapped James on the back jokingly, which made James go slightly pink. He turned his head away so no one could see.

Who was the mystery Head Boy and Girl? Only four people - besides the School Governors, the staff members, and Dumbledore - and they were Remus, Krystyna, Sirius, and Peter. Krystyna hadn't told Lorena and Sara that James was Head Boy because she wanted to see the looks on their faces.

Lily squirmed in her seat. Who was Head Boy? If it was that senseless, arrogant, cute, funny - stop it! - horrible boy, James Potter, Lily had told herself that she would likely hex herself. But was he that bad? She'd never gotten close enough to him to know.

It had always been, "Stop terrorizing everyone, Potter!" that was said to him. It had never been, "Hello, James, how's today finding you?" that escaped her mouth. She'd only let herself seen his cruel, bully side, but what about that gentle, soft, side that made girls fall over like they had weights tied to their hair. Was she too stubborn to let herself see the side James Potter showed many girls? Maybe he did show her that side of him, but she was too mixed off with the other side of him. She'd always thought she could read James Potter like a book.

"The new Head Boy of Hogwarts will be" - students sat on the edge of their seats, wondering and wondering, while Krystyna and Sirius were on the edge of howling with laughter - "Mr. James Potter from Gryffindor!"

Cheers erupted from all over the Great Hall, except from the Slytherin table. Although many students thought James Potter as a hero, Slytherin thought James Potter as an idiotic fool. James stood up, his cheeks bright pink, and walked up to the front to sit in the seat.

That does it, Lily thought, though she didn't believe what she was thinking, I'm hexing myself as soon as I step foot in my own dormitory.

However, an unusual grin crept upon her face, and she was horrified when Krystyna started to laugh when she saw. Sara was clapping wildly. It took all of the power in the universe to keep Lorena from not jolting out of her seat to cheer a boy - who got on her best friend's nerves - on. It meant the world to her that her cousin didn't make it.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" Lorena shrieked, clapping her hands like a maniac. "Malfoy isn't Head Boy! Malfoy isn't Head Boy! This is the greatest!"

She looked behind her back and saw the angry, scowling face of her cousin. She about died of laughter.

"Bloody hell - Merlin! This is the best moment of my entire life; I'm never going to forget this! This is so great! Can you see the look on Malfoy's ugly face! Oh, this is so great! I really wish I had...a, uh, camera for this moment! GO JAMES! And look at Snap - look at him! I think I'm going to cry, this is such a happy moment! I can't wait to tease Malfoy about this one! After what he did to you, Krystyna, and walking in our compartment without knocking and demanding for you - oh, he's going to wish he was dead after I'm done teasing him! I'll never let him live it down. I'm going to make sure that my pitiful excuse of a hating cousin pays for all of this!"

"Look, Krystyna, look at Narcissa Black!" Sara laughed, her side hurting her she was laughing so hard. "She's crying! She's actually crying because Malfoy didn't make Head Boy and Potter did! This is so great! This is the funniest moment in my life! I don't know whether to cry, laugh, or yell joyfully. It's like winning the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup for a sixth year in a row all over again!" Sara stopped clapping and clutched her sides.

"Lily, you're going to be with Potter," Krystyna muttered to her best friend while Sara and Lorena laughed and cheered. "It's not such a bad thing, is it?"

Lily stared at her friend. "Oh no, he's just a big senseless-"

"You don't think of him that way, do you?" Krystyna asked quietly. "I mean, he can't be that bad, can he? Sure, he's got an inflated head the size of China, but I think he's let some air out over the summer."

Lily grinned at Krystyna's joke and sighed. "Well, I suppose it can't be that bad to be with James Potter," she mumbled. "I'm going to have to get use to it; I'll be stuck with him all year after all. And he does seem to have a changed a bit this year; I never thought I'd see the day when Potter blushed."

"You're going to have to get use to saying 'James', you know that, right?" Krystyna muttered. Lily nodded her head slowly. "The Head Boy and Girl must get along well to show unity."

"That will take some time getting use to."

Everyone finally calmed down.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore!" Lorena shouted in the silence. "Alright!"

They all giggled furiously as Lorena blushed but kept a triumphant expression on her face as she looked back at Malfoy, who was scowling at her. She glared at him equally and looked back at her friends to snicker.

"You're welcome very much, Miss Fawcett," Dumbledore replied suddenly. They giggled louder as Lorena turned bright red.

"Now, the new Head Girl of Hogwarts will be" - again, students were on the verge of wondering - "Miss Lily Evans from Gryffindor."

A loud cheer erupted from the Gryffindor table as Lily stood up and made her way up to the seat next to James Potter. Her cheeks were crimson as she sat down. Krystyna stood up to continue her clapping, and, although she didn't see it, so did Sirius. Lorena and Sara stood up and so did Remus and Peter. Lorena could be heard over everyone practically. Finally, all of the Gryffindors stood up to applause the two Heads.

Lorena couldn't hold it in any longer; she was now actually jumping up and down, cheering for Lily. Sara was smiling brightly and clapping her hands very loudly. Krystyna was so proud of her friend. She didn't care that she wasn't sitting in that seat up there; it wouldn't have felt right. Lily was the right one in that seat up there. And so was James. Krystyna looked over at the Slytherin table and an urge to shout something came over her and rolled off of her tongue before she could stop it. She didn't care though.

"You win some, you lose some, Narcissa!" Krystyna shouted. She'd been so loud that Narcissa had actually heard her. She snapped her head in Krystyna's direction and glared avidly at her with her cold, icy eyes. However, Krystyna grinned and continued her clapping while grinning back at Narcissa. Krystyna shrugged her shoulders and laughed at the scowl. She looked back at her blushing friend and a pink-faced James Potter.

"Yeah, you certainly do," Krystyna muttered to herself quietly, gazing at the two. Then, she rounded her head and looked back at Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "You win some, you lose some." She looked back at Lorena who was still jumping up and down.

"Yes! Yes! Way to go, Lily!" Lorena boomed joyfully. "Narcissa lost! Yes! Lily won! Alright! Thank you, School Governors, thank you! I'll never say you have crap for brains ever again! Thank you! Both Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black are losers! This is truly the happiest moment of my life!"

For a split second, Krystyna thought Lorena was going to cry happily, but instead she shouted happily again. Sara was going to go deaf thanks to this moment and Lorena, but she was thoroughly happy anyways.

~*~

Lily had sat back down with her friends at the Gryffindor table out of choice after fifteen minutes of staying up in the Head Boy and Girl seats with James. She had - it was no lie - been talking to James about what he'd done over the summer and she had - this was unbelievable- not called him an "arrogant arse who had the ego the size of USSR" once. Although she'd never admit it, she'd never even thought about calling him that up there. Sara and Lorena thought something was wrong with her.

"Did he put some sort of spell on her?" Sara wondered.

Krystyna let out a muffled snicker that went unnoticed. Just the spell of lurve.

"Maybe the Confundous Charm," Lorena suggested. "I've used that on Snap countless times when he catches me practicing my charms in the old Transfiguration room after hours." This time, both Lorena and Krystyna snickered, but for different reasons.

"When will you get it right, Lorena? It's Snape; not Snap," Krystyna sniggered. "Either way, it's a bad name."

"Oh, Krystyna's defending the prat, Snivellus, are we?" a silky voice said sheepishly from behind Krystyna. She spun around to see Sirius Black standing there, looking smug as ever.

"No," Krystyna said cautiously, remembering that he saved her that afternoon, "I'm just telling Lorena Snape's name. Then again, I don't think his initials S.S. stand for Severus Snape." She paused and watched as Sirius cocked his head a little, one eyebrow raised. His arms were folded over his chest, but a little tighter than usual. He was slightly nervous. "I think they stand for Severus Slimeball."

Lorena, Sara, and Lily grinned largely and let a few muffled giggles escape while Sirius laughed.

"Yes, yes," Sirius he, and then he leaned in close to Krystyna's face, his palms starting to sweat at being this close to her and her not pulling away, "you're not the first one to wonder about that."

He winked at her and pulled back. He walked on and sat down next to some other girl at the Ravenclaw table. That same green feeling swept over Krystyna as she saw the girl rub the back of her next and sighed; she knew what that meant. But to her amazement, Sirius frowned and made no normal reaction. He stood up, said goodbye, and walked back over to James, Remus, and Peter, making the girl look very confused.

"Krystyna, what're you grinning about?" Sara asked. It was only then that Krystyna realized she was grinning; she whipped herself back to her friends, the excuse already set in her mouth.

"Just thinking of how Black looked when I didn't jerk away," Krystyna sighed dismissively, picking up her goblet full of pumpkin juice.

Lorena nodded her head. "I think he was quite disappointed that you didn't freak out," she snickered. "He's not use to that. Honestly, if Sirius Black got that close to me, I'd either die of shock or kiss him-"

"No you wouldn't," Krystyna replied. "Now, if it was Remus, on the other hand..."

Lorena turned pink. "Just shut up."

Lily giggled. "Ooh, Lorena, what aren't you telling Sara and me, hm? Is there something we ought to know?"

"No, Krystyna's just being a git," Lorena mumbled. Krystyna grinned. "Anyways, I just really don't know understand you don't like him, Krystyna. He's very handsome, smart, and-"

"And he hexes people for fun and just because he feels like it or he's bored," Krystyna interrupted absentmindedly.

It was true. But was he going to do it this year? It was their last year, after all. Was he going to top it off with a big bang or a smooth song? A lot of her said that it was going to be one heck of a big bang, but that meeting on the train spelled out smooth song.

Was it just her imagination or had she been thinking about Sirius Black more than usual over her summer? This summer had not been pleasant at all. So she'd thought about good things over the summer to keep her spirits up: Owling her friends, seeing old friends that went to Durmstrang, going back to Hogwarts, rides on her broom, and sitting in the garden on the swings in the sun in the peace and quiet and away from her parents and relatives.

She'd gotten in so much trouble over the summer that she'd lost a few pounds, but Lily, Lorena, and Sara hadn't noticed. Hanging out with Lily cost her many meals, but Krystyna hadn't cared at all. There were other things on her mind too: school work, Quidditch games and practices, Prefect duties, and...Sirius Black. Could it possibly be that Sirius Black was not on that list, but her list of good things to remember? Could it possibly be that thinking of Sirius Black made her happy?

Krystyna shivered when she remembered that one dream she'd had the night before leaving to go to the Hogwarts Express. She'd dreamt that she'd been caught kissing Sirius in a closet by Remus, James, Peter, and Lily. She dreaded to think what Lily would say. Well, it could be worse; Lorena could have caught you instead of Lily, Krystyna thought. Or even worse, Malfoy could have caught you.

Then, she remembered the first thing that came to her mind when she woke up. It was silly, and she regretted it - well maybe she didn't regret thinking it - but her mind had spoken it out anyway: I wonder if Sirius is really a good kisser.

Krystyna didn't even let herself live that one down. But was it so bad? Yes, it certainly was. She didn't like rule-breakers; and that was his goal in life, or at least it seemed that way. Sara had told her that it was normal for good girls to fall for a bad boy at least once in there life. Well, a lot of good girls had fallen for Sirius and James - and even Lucius Malfoy scored a lot, however strange that may be.

Lorena stared at Krystyna. "Well...yeah, that's true, but maybe he won't do it this year," she replied, sticking up for him again.

"Hm, maybe," Krystyna sighed, taking another sip of her pumpkin juice.

"If he does," Sara continued, "would you go out with him? I mean, he obviously fancies you a lot."

"He fancies a lot of girls," Krystyna replied, her eyes wandering around the Great Hall. Her fault was there. When her eyes wandered, she was avoiding something.

Lily grinned. "Maybe he does - most likely not - but not in the same way he fancies you, Krystyna," she noted.

Krystyna stared at Lily. "What d'you mean, not in the same way?" Krystyna questioned, not sure where this conversation was going to end up at. "Of course he does. You're being paranoid."

"No, I'm not and you know it, Krystyna," Lily defended, her arms crossed and she puffed up indignantly, mainly for act. "A lot of girls want Sirius Black, not including me, of course, and by the way he acts to them, he makes them think that he wants them, but he doesn't. He may like a girl, but not that much or way. Every girl knows that his cool demeanor while talking to them is as unnerving as seeing you kissing Malfoy purposely; and he always manages to keep it straight, but it's not the same with you. He stammers - which he never does with any other girl - his palms get sweaty - so much that you can see it - and you can tell he's getting nauseas."

"Maybe I look that bad," Krystyna replied. She acted like she didn't care, but really into what Lily was saying. Lily shook her head quickly.

"That's a down right lie, Krystyna!" Lorena exclaimed. "You want ugly? Go look at Narcissa and Bellatrix Black!" She jabbed the back of her thumb at the Slytherin table behind her. She shook her head slowly. "Now that's ugly. Whoo...honestly, I don't know how they can be related to the tall, dark, and handsome Sirius Black. They look nothing alike! I wish I looked nothing like Malfoy..." She grumbled some other words that Lily, Krystyna, and Sara couldn't understand.

"C'mon, let's go to the common room and see Jessie and Marissa," Lily said, yawning. Jessie Fox and Marissa Alexander were the other two Gryffindor seventh year girls; they'd already left to talk by the fire - about boys, no doubt; they were friends though.

Lorena, Sara, and Krystyna agreed. They stood up and Sara, Lily, and Lorena began to walk away. Krystyna took one last gulp of her pumpkin juice and ran to catch up with them. She caught Sirius's eyes for a second and then she turned away to talk to Lily about Quidditch; Krystyna was a good Chaser.

As they walked out of the Great Hall, laughing with each other, Lucius Malfoy stared at Krystyna as her robes flickered as she was the last to walk out of the Great Hall. He was tapping his foot absentmindedly while continuing his gaze at the slowly closing door. Severus Snape shook his head when he saw Lucius staring that way. Lucius looked at him.

"Really, Lucius, I don't think she's ever going to fancy you," Severus muttered. "Black's starting to grow on her-"

Immediately, that was a mistake. Lucius whipped around and grabbed Severus by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up.

"Don't you say that to me, Severus," Lucius snarled coldly. "I don't give a damn that you think Krystyna's starting to like Black because she doesn't. You don't get it. Black may fancy her, but she doesn't like him. Do you see the way she looks when she talks to that stupid fool? Her expression's hard, annoyed, and cold. She doesn't like him, Severus."

"But...she's softened up to him," Severus mumbled quietly. "Did you see the way she looked when Black got inches from her face? That was not hard but soft! You don't see the looks in her eyes, do you?"

Lucius dropped Severus back in his seat.

"You don't get it," Lucius growled lowly. "She doesn't like him. She'll like me before the end of the year, trust me, she'll like me."

Severus rolled his eyes. How many times had he heard that before? It was more than innumerable. He looked at Narcissa Black, who was talking to her friends.

"Narcissa Black fancies you a lot," Severus chirped nonchalantly. "Why do you go out with her?"

"Because I don't fancy her; I fancy Krystyna," Lucius gnarled spitefully, taking a large gulp of his pumpkin juice. "Narcissa is too...much of a girl. She talks about shopping and clothes way too much. I about ripped my ears off when I had to sit by her during my father's business dinner with her father."

"True, but I think it also has to do something that she's related to Black..." Severus murmured.

"Now, Krystyna, she's on the Quidditch team. She's not afraid to get down in the mud or get hurt," Lucius said, choosing to act as though he hadn't heard Severus's last remark. "She's tough, smart, beautiful, brave, ambitious, and she doesn't talk about shopping a lot if at all. She's perfect. You know how attractive she is."

Severus nodded his head. "Yeah, she is - no points in denying that," Severus sighed, "but your plans to get her have all failed."

Lucius shook it off with a wave of his hand. "Yes, I know that," he replied. "My plan to get Krystyna through Lorena failed miserably. I had no idea that one little thing against Evans would send Lorena on a rampage against me and the entire Slytherin house. I'd forgotten about her strength. And Narcissa hasn't helped anything get better. She's really aggravating, and her remarks against Evans, Lorena, Whitfield, and Krystyna have made it worse. They think it's my fault that Narcissa hates them. And it's not."

Lucius sighed and shook his head slowly. Nothing, it seemed, was his fault. Severus rolled his eyes again, but cringed a little.

Lorena Fawcett, Lucius's first cousin, had a terrible temper when someone said something mean to her friends or herself. The incident on the Hogwarts Express when Lucius had tore their compartment door open and demanded for Krystyna had surely enraged her. He was taller and maybe stronger than her, but he had crawled in the corner when Lorena let her rage lash out freely. Lucius had been scared to death with Lorena brandishing her wand very threateningly. All the Slytherins were afraid of her at times. She was one tough girl, and she held deep grudges.

Sara was quiet; you had to call Lily Evans a Mudblood to get her riled up. She was pureblood, but her family had Muggle-born and Half-blood friends. They didn't care and disliked anyone that was like his and Lucius's families. Pureblood Traitors was what they were called.

Lily Evans was a Mudblood and James Potter fancied her a lot. Nothing much to say about her really. Lucius hated her because of her background and her arrogance to obey him.

Then, there was Krystyna. She'd betrayed her family, like Black, but stayed with them. She was from a pureblood family that thought Mudbloods, Half-breeds, and Muggles were below them, yet her best friend was a Muggle-born witch. Severus had taken notice that she looked skinnier - lost some meals thanks to Evans probably. She was a Chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and very good at that. She was a top student, too. She was the perfect girl for anyone. She was beautiful also.

Lucius was certain that he'd get Krystyna to like him and turn her back into a Mudblood hater. Severus may have, at once, fancied her, too, but he wasn't going to be that drastic. Lucius had about as much of a chance to do that as Black had to become friends with him.

Regulus Black, Sirius Black's younger brother, sat down next to Lucius, his eyes glazed and tired. Lucius dropped his fork and looked over at him. Severus looked at the boy. He looked uncertain and slightly frightened. He sniffed and looked back at his older brother who was laughing with the idiot James Potter, the fool Peter Pettigrew, and the werewolf Remus Lupin. He then looked back at Lucius.

"Sirius said that..." Regulus looked back at his older brother hesitantly and then to Lucius again, "...that he's changing. He's going to get Krystyna to like him. He's not going to have a big ego."

Lucius frowned. "We'll see about that," he said. With that, he stood up and left the Great Hall.

Sirius Black glared at him as he walked out. Lucius glared back and nodded before walking out. Black went to stand up, but Lupin put his hand on his shoulder and made him sit back down. Black's gaze never left the closing doors. Regulus sighed deeply and went back to his normal seat. Severus just shook his head and took another drink of his pumpkin juice.