Kelsey stormed into the Hufflepuff dorm and headed straight for the small drawer next to her bed. She pulled it open and blindly grabbed the stack of comics books in it.

"Kelsey?" She heard Astrid but her focus was only in front of her.

Amazing Spider-Man #149 She stared at the issue in her hand. Without thinking twice she held it up and tore it down the middle in half. Astrid gasped in shock while Kelsey calmly threw the two halves on her bed and reached for another issue.

"This isn't a comic book.."

"Fancy yourself a superhero.."

The haunting words echoed in her mind as she tore the second one right down the middle mechanically. How could she have fooled herself all this time? He let it go - let them go with such ease. He threw back her prized possessions back in her face. She remembered his disdainful expression all too well.

If Kelsey had been in her right mind she would have smacked herself for being so distraught so as to destroy her collection over a boy. Right now, she was heartbroken. Physically ripping it apart had the cathartic effect if she imagined it to be Pettigrew. The pages torn in half were scattered across her bed now. She reached for a third when she found nothing.

"What is wrong with you?" Astrid demanded. Her friend was clutching on to the rest of her comic books for dear life. One of them had to be in their right senses.

Only now did Kelsey feel a tear slide down her cheek and Astrid immediately let go of them, dropping them to the ground. She rushed over to Kelsey who sat back on the bed and threw her arms around her.

For the first time since their fifth year, when Astrid had last seen Kelsey cry, Kelsey shoved her face into Astrid's shoulder and let it all out.

"I was so stupid Tatty," her voice was muffled as the tears now wet Astrid's robes. Her friend cooed her in silence.

This was somewhat new to Astrid. Their roles were usually reversed. And by reversed, she meant, Kelsey would be storming off to find the person who dared make Astrid cry. But Astrid being the gentle soul could only soothe her friend with her calming presence and kind words, assuring her that everything would be fine while Kelsey recounted what had happened between sniffles.

That night after Kelsey finally fell asleep on her shoulder, Astrid managed to detach herself. She quietly gathered the remains of the tattered comics and hid them in her trunk for a later day. She couldn't fix Kelsey's heart right now but she would find a way to fix those comics. Making sure it was hidden so that Kelsey wouldn't see them, she tucked herself into bed.

Sleep eluded Astrid as she pondered Kelsey's version of events. Nothing made sense. She needed to get to the bottom of it and there was only one person she hoped she could count on.

Ϟ

"Did you hear?"

"Oh for the love of Rowena!" The seventh-year Ravenclaw boy slammed his textbook shut even though the question had not been directed at him. This was a library!

"Kelpie Jones and Sirius Black broke up," the girls on the table next to him whispered.

"About time," a second one scoffed.

"I always knew he wasn't one to be held down by labels," the third one commented, looking pleased.

"Oh shut it, Chelsea. You were begging him in October to drag you into a broom cupboard."

"Don't pretend to be high and mighty Cathy. You were the one begging him to-"

The girls were interrupted as a shadow fell over the table. They looked up to see the Ravenclaw boy who had had enough. Sternly, he leaned down and placed his hands flat against the table.

"Quit it or leave, girls," he said menacingly.

Silently they packed up their things and left but not before snickering loudly as they passed by a certain girl who had just entered. The boy was about to yell at them again when he saw Kelsey Jones clenching her fist. The four girls seemed to be having some type of hostile conversation.

He saw Kelsey smirk and lean in to whisper something to Chelsea or was it Cathy? He couldn't tell. Either way, the girl's smug smile dropped quickly and they rushed out.

Only now did he feel some pity for Kelsey Jones. She had bags under her eyes, but her expression remained determined as she marched over to an empty table ignoring the hushed whispers of students around her. She grabbed her parchment and quills and immersed herself right into her essay.

Kelsey made an obvious effort to ignore the incessant chatter around her.

"Did she really think she could tame him?"

"I never knew what he saw in her."

Gossip like that had followed her through the castle for a few days now. High on emotions, the break-up had nothing to do with his inability to keep it in his pants, she knew that. Their wounds ran deeper. It still irked her to know that it was just as easy to throw away proclamations of love that he had claimed to have for her, one that she believed, over Pettigrew that rat.

She couldn't even blame Sirius for all of it. It was this very loyalty the four- no three boys had, a trait that had made her appreciative of him. She knew if the tables were turned and someone accused Astrid or Lily, she would hex them into next Sunday. But she knew that would never happen because unlike Pettigrew, her friends were not double-crossing, two-faced cowards.

She also had no doubt that there was already a long line of girls offering themselves up to 'console' him. She furiously dotted the 'i' on her essay, piercing the parchment. She had put up with his taunts for six years. This was nothing new.

Ϟ

"Are you sure?" The girl with dirty-blonde hair stared through her lashes at Sirius Black.

"'Course, love," he drawled smoothly. "You see," he brought his lips closer to her ears ignoring the sick feeling at the bottom of his stomach. This didn't feel right. He fought the urge to pull away and continued whispering sweet nothings that turned out was just the thing to say. The girl giggled and smacked his arm, before sashaying her hips away.

Sirius wished that sight stirred something in him but it didn't. Angry as he was there was only one person who stirred anything for him. Nevertheless, he'd made himself busy by distracting himself these last few days. Just as she disappeared from sight, Prongs, Moony and Wormtail walked in through the entrance.

James' boisterous laugh signalled the end of some tale he was recounting. Remus had his lips pressed thin as if holding back an amused smile while Peter nodded along eagerly. They spotted Sirius and made their way over.

"All good there, mate?" James asked as they sat down around him in front of the fireplace.

"Couldn't be better," he mumbled, staring into the fire.

Remus shared a look with the head boy and cleared his throat. "So, Hannah's looking good these days," he said.

"Who?" Sirius looked confused.

"The girl who just left," Remus explained.

"Right," Sirius shrugged.

"Come on, you can't still be mad at her for trying to help?" Remus asked. Sirius visibly stiffened at the mention of Kelsey. Remus had promised Astrid to bring it up gently knowing how hot-tempered both their best friends were. Neither of them had cracked yet.

"Astrid, wait!" The sound of several footsteps and a panicked voice had them turning to see what the commotion was about.

"SIRIUS BLACK YOU UTTER TWAT!" Sirius found himself staring at Astrid who was red in the face. "The three of you have some nerve," she laughed shakily, drawing in on her hidden confrontational skills.

"Astrid, calm down," Remus was up and trying to relax her but she pushed him away.

"I tried to give you some time. A week. I gave you a week to calm down and come to your senses but this is getting ridiculous," she seethed.

"Astrid, let's go," Marlene pleaded a few feet away.

"And you!" Astrid said each word with venom as she looked at Remus and James. "Ignoring Kelsey, really?" she scoffed. "That's a bit immature, don't you think?"

"Nice to see her temper has rubbed off on you," Sirius said quietly and got up. He easily towered her at 5'2. He took a step in her direction only to have Moony stop him.

"Sirius, no."

"Look, it's for the best. At least for now," James jumped in to explain. He hated having to do this but with Kelsey almost finding out about the Order this was a necessary evil. For the great good. "There are things even you don't know about Astrid. It's why we had to ask her to stay low about this but she just wouldn't listen."

"She was just trying to help!"

"By shoving her nose in places it didn't belong!" James bellowed.

"Astrid please," Remus finally managed to drag her away before this blew up into another new fight. "Look, I certainly don't condone this ostracism but-"

"There's a BUT?"

"Kelsey will understand when she does. All in due time. Just give it some more time?" His eyes begged her to agree. "And for the record, she still has me," he offered a small smile which seemed to pacify her.

Remus found it hard to not stare at her blatantly as Astrid took deep calming breaths. This was a side of her he hadn't seen too often and he could feel the itch to crush his lips into hers. The thought made him frown. It was too close to the full moon.

As if realising that he was watching her with a strange expression she tore her eyes away. It was easy hiding a blush under the redness of her anger. She felt exhilarated. She had never yelled at anyone. Was this why Kelsey fought with Black constantly?

"To be clear, he misses her," said Remus quietly in the corner of the common room, away from eavesdropping ears. They sent a quick glance at their friends on the other side wherein Sirius still looked sour. "He's been moping around. It's a shame that they're both so stubborn."

"It's just," Astrid tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What she said didn't make sense," Astrid was in deep thought.

"I can see why Sirius reacted the way he did," Remus began carefully. Their menial tasks for the Order so far was building up for when they left the confines of the castle. Kelsey or anyone else finding out about it was detrimental as it currently stood. And yet, the very first thing Remus had done was march over to Dumbledore's office and demand that she be allowed to join the Order because of the friendships it was ruining. "But his behaviour is still.."Remus paused.

"Git-like?" Astrid finished with a small smile.

"Indeed," he chuckled. "I'll look into it," Remus was referring to the Wormtail thing. It sickened him given that he was one of the three who had put in the effort to become an animagus for him. However, he had to agree that something didn't add up and the others were too emotional about it right now.

"Fine. But until then I think it's best he stayed away," said Astrid.

Ϟ

"Kelsey!"

Kelsey heard her name being called. She knew exactly who it was. She quickened her pace.

"Wait!"

Maybe if she broke into a jog, she could evade him. A hand gripped her robes and stopped her in the middle of her patrols. She cursed Remus Lupin and his long legs.

"We're supposed to be patrolling together," he pointed out.

"No thanks." And with that she was on her way again. It would have been a merry way too but he had to join her.

One week. It had taken her one week and then a few days to feel okay again. Her pain was buried deep inside because she couldn't afford to let whispers of Sirius Black snogging a new girl every few days bring her down again.

She'd show him, she had decided. If he didn't need her help or her so be it.

"I wanted to apologise," he said sheepishly when Kelsey hadn't said anything for a few minutes into their rounds. She looked at him confused. "For being part of the whole banishment scenario. Bit archaic, if you ask me" he said grimly referring to how the other three were ignoring him.

"Going back to having three fewer friends is hardly a banishment Remus," she rolled her eyes. "It's not your fault anyway," she quipped. She did not want to be having this conversation right now.

"I just want to help," he continued.

She let out an exasperated huff. "You can help me by finding me someone to hand out detentions to right now," she joked.

On cue, a loud thud shook a small door to their left.

"Ask and she shall receive," murmured Remus staring at the door.

It was a month and a half until their NEWTs. Most seventh-years would be cramming now.

A loud giggle escaped Kelsey's lips and they could hear the people on the other side of the door still.

Watching Remus in delight, she opened the door dramatically, hoping to catch whoever it was in an Aha! moment.

It was a month and a half until their NEWTs..most seventh-years would be cramming now..most seventh-years, except one Sirius Black.

Sirius was backed against a wall as the girl, Hannah from Gryffindor, assaulted his neck. The top few buttons of his uniform were undone and Kelsey could see faint purple marks. Her heart caught in her throat.

The thing is that hearing rumours about Sirius and his new flavour of the day and actually seeing it in action were two different things, Kelsey realised much to her dismay.

"Look what the dog dragged in," she sneered.

"Don't mind her, Bella," Sirius glared at her unfazed. "It's Spring. I heard Kelpies get quite testy this time of the year. Probably on the hunt for mates and whatnot. Quite a shame really," he said with loathing. He ignored the way his heart lurched from watching that brief flicker of pain.

"That's getting a bit old, Black," Kelsey tapped her foot impatiently. She threw the door open wider waiting for them to exit but Sirius stopped the girl from moving.

"You mind?" he smirked.

Even though her blood was boiling, she wasn't going to let him get to her.

Kelsey sent them a sickly sweet smile. "Enjoy the rabies, Isabelle." She turned on her heels and roughly grabbed Remus by the hand to drag him away.

Remus had to jog to keep up with the pace at which she was pulling him away. He turned his head glower at Sirius only to find Sirius' eyes glued to where Kelsey was holding his already.

Ϟ