"Oh, like you?" Sirius turned his narrowed eyes up at his friend, and suddenly, they
were no longer children, no longer little boys who played with toy dragons and talked about
nothing but Quidditch. A girl was involved and not just any girl. A girl they
had both somehow claimed, even if neither was certain what that meant just now.
"Someone should!" Remus snapped back.
"What's going on in here?"
The voice distracted both of them, and they turned to see James standing in the
doorway, a worried expression on his face as he watched his best friends looking as though
they were nearly ready to start throwing hexes.
"Nothing," they both said at the same time and separated, going to their own beds.
"Okay." James watched them closely. After a few moments of silence, he made his
way to his own bed and turned to look at his best friend. "How was your date?"
Sirius frowned. "Fine. It was... I don't think I'm going to see her again."
"Bad luck. You should have stuck around a while longer then. Did Remus tell you
that Mia punched Snivellus?" James laughed. "It was hilarious. The only time I've ever seen
her that angry before is when you were in the hospital wing last year."
Mia did not get back to the common room until well after midnight. She was
exhausted after spending her entire day helping Professor McGonagall organise first year
Transfiguration essays, and then—because her offence had been of a violent nature—she
had spent her night polishing each and every candelabra in the Great Hall.
Instead of making her way back up to her dorm room, she collapsed on the sofa in
front of the fireplace and fell swiftly asleep.
Her rest did not last long, and soon she jolted awake, heart racing. She covered her
face with her hands and willed the tears to retreat as she forced the image of Voldemort
from her mind. Forced the sounds of Sirius and Remus screaming from her thoughts. She
stood, looking to the stairs leading to the girls' dorms with hesitation. She hated dreams
that involved her boys. It always made her worried that somehow, if she did not see them
with her own eyes, that meant that they were not safe.