"No, she hasn't" was the first words to escape my mouth. I said them quickly, mechanically, refusing to believe that one of my closest friends would give something that is mine-something I worked hard for and deserved-to someone that probably didn't know her arse from a hole in the ground. No, James would never do that. I shook my head repeatedly, ignoring the eyes that stared at me around the common room. "She hasn't replaced me."

James surveyed the room. "Look," he hissed, hazel eyes warning me to keep my mouth shut, "we're not having this conversation here." But I wasn't listening to him, I didn't even fully process a word he said. Instead, I was glaring at the raven-haired she-devil behind him. She smirked a smirk I knew too well and I immediately knew where I had seen it before: Harper Cooper, ex-girlfriend of Sirius. It was that realization that sent me pouncing toward her. I didn't even think about the consequences; didn't care, honestly. Just before my hands could wrap themselves in her hair, a strong arm wrapped itself around my waist and jerked me toward something rock-hard. I winced at the pain that went through my waist and back. I tried to fight but found it useless.

"Let got of me!" I yelled. Sarah, the she-devil, continued smirking as she walked up to the dorms-but I could've sworn I seen a wariness in her expression.

James came forward and grasped my kicking feet. "We'll let go of you," -he gritted his teeth-,"when you stop acting nutters."

I looked straight into his eyes, trying to convey the emotions I felt and make him feel guilty. All I got was anger and annoyance-but he strong grip loosened on my legs. I took a few deep breaths to prove that I was sane, and James released his hold on my feet. The arm around my waist lingered for a moment before leaving its place. Sirius stepped from behind me and I could tell he was also angry at James, but the depth of his anger didn't run as deep as mine. Wordlessly, James, Sirius, and I walked up to the boys' dorm. When we got there, James locked the door and turned to me. Before he could say anything, Sirius grasped my forearm and lead me across the room, away from James. "This will only take a second," he told James, giving me a warning look that told me to keep my mouth shut.

Our faces were dangerously close, but he didn't seem to mind. I tried to pull myself out of his grasp. "I don't think my boyfriend would approve of such a close proximity," I said dryly, but his grasp remained firm. "Okay," I snapped, "what do you want?"

"Listen to James and don't interuppt him," he said simply. "I know you, Addie. You have no idea how hard it was on him to make the decision."

"You don't seem to like the decision," I snapped.

"Of course I don't like the bloody decision! All I want you to do is to not give James hell over it, okay?"

Sadly, I knew where he was coming from. He knew all to well how I would react and, luckily, he called me out before I could make James feel even worse over it. But that didn't stop the anger that rose up in me. Or the sense of betrayal I felt toward James. No, nothing could stop it. Without saying a word to Sirius, I jerked my arm from his grasp and walked over to James. We simply stared at one another for a few minutes, both willing the other to speak first.

Finally, I gave in. "Why did you do it?" It was meant to come out in a snarl, but the words sounded more like a hopeless whisper. I couldn't look at James. I willed myself not to. He knew how much I valued being the star Seeker on our House team, and he stole it from me. He stole it and gave it to someone I loathes sibling. My chest tightened and I sat down in the nearest bed, forcing myself to hold the tears back.

James sighed and sat beside me. "I did it because, well, she's a good Seeker."

"And I'm not?" I snapped.

"No, you are. Look at it this way, Adds: Sarah has a few years to become a better Seeker and it's a good idea for her to start now. It'll benefit the team in the long run."

"I wouldn't have done that to you," I said, turning toward him.

He had the decency to look ashamed. He ran his hand through his messy black hair. "I was only being fair."

This sparked something inside me. "Fair? You aren't a damn Hufflepuff, James! How is that fair, anyway?" I nearly yelled.

"It's fair because I'm giving someone else a shot at being a Seeker."

"When they have no real experience? When they aren't one of your closest friends? When they wouldn't have done that for you if they were in your position?" I burst out. "I worked my arse off to become the best Seeker possible!" I didn't have to look at him to know Sirius was giving me a death glare. "And now you've taken that away!"

"Oh, cut the damn dramatics, Addie," Sirius snapped.

"This has nothing to do with you, Sirius! Keep your ungodly mouth out of it!" I flung a pillow at him, hitting him in the face.

He was about to retaliate when James stood between us. "Stop it!" He roared. "Look, Addie, you are no longer our Seeker, and that's that. We have a position for a Chaser open if you'd like that. Take it or leave it." And with those final words, he unlocked the door and left me with Sirius. I expected him to leave, but he stayed put, glaring at me.

"What's wrong with you?" He blurted.

"What do you mean?" I asked defensively.

He started to sit beside me, but decided better and sat on the bed opposite me. Running his hand through his black curls, he sighed. "I dunno. You just act so different from the previous years we've had here." He seemed like he truly wanted to know if something was wrong with me, earnestly. For some reason, this made me slightly uncomfortable. My days with heart to hearts with Sirius were long gone; at least, that's what I assumed. When I didn't say anything, he pressed on, "It's not Puma, is it?"

Surprising both of us, I laughed. "Why do you always assume it's something with John? No, my moodiness and temper-tantrums have nothing to do with John."

"Then what is making you moody and temperamental?"

The moment the words left his mouth, I knew I couldn't answer. I didn't even like admitting what was wrong with me to myself, and I sure as hell wasn't about to say anything to Sirius; even though I knew I could trust him. "Nothing is making me that way," I tried to assure him. "It comes natural, really."

He stared at me for a few minutes. "It has nothing to do with what happened between us during our fourth year, does it?" I froze inside. He knew me too well. Sirius and I used to be closer than Liz and me. Fourth year came and our friendship began deteriorating; he traded time with me for his then girlfriend, Harper. During the final Quidditch match of the year, John, then Ravenclaw Beater, accidentally sent a Bludger flying at my arm, breaking it. I woke up later that day in the infirmary, my arm bandaged and Sirius' head lying at my feet. He immediately woke up and we spoke for a few minutes; he told me about what happened after the match. Our speaking lead to Sirius trying to kiss me, but I rejected him. He stormed out of the Hospital Wing. I later went to the boys' dorm to find him drunk- how he got his hands on alcohol, I'll never know- he tried snogging me, threw insults at me, and showed me a completely different Sirius. After that, our conversations were awkward, and I couldn't help the hostility I felt toward him.

"Addie? You there?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I addressed the question. "No, it has nothing to do with that," I lied easily. "I've just been stressed." It wasn't a complete lie since I was under a lot of stress.

His eyes told me he didn't believe me, but he said, "Okay then." The door opened and Remus and Peter entered. Both felt the tension in the room, Remus stayed while Peter said something about having to finish schoolwork and going to the library.

Remus looked between us, a quizzical expression on his face. "Everything all right?"

I smiled, but before I could say anything, Sirius spoke, "Yeah, we were just discussing the Potions paper due next week." He stood. "I think I'll meet up with Wormtail." He left without another word.

Remus took his spot beside me and wrapped an arm around me. "I'm not going to ask anything because I have a pretty good idea about what you two were talking about."

"Fourth year."

It wasn't a question, but he answered anyway, "Yeah."

"You're very intuitive," I said dryly. He chuckled. "Did you hear about Harper's sister replacing me as Seeker?" I asked tentatively, curious to know who said what.

He sighed. "Yes."

"Who told you?"

"Lily did."

I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't surprise me." Lily was someone I didn't like simply because she didn't seem to care about breaking James' heart over and over again. She wasn't there when he was near giving up on love.

I stood. "I'm going to the dorm." We exchanged good-byes and I left for my dorm.

I laid facedown on my bed, trying to drown out the chatter of Lily, Harper, Alice, and Dorcas around me. Really, all they talked about was girl talk and boys. Someone kicked my bed and my head snapped up. "Heard you nearly fought my sister today," Harper hissed.

I rolled so I was on my side, smirking. "Nearly."

"Look, Zamore, you can pick on me all you want, but do not mess with my sister or you will be sorry."

"I'm terrified," I drawled.

"Yeah? Well, you sho-"

"Addie!" I froze, the smirk immediately leaving my face. No, I did not just hear that voice. No. The door shut and I closed my eyes, hoping the voice I heard was only part of my imagination. "Addie!" Yes, it was only part of my imagination. The moment I knew it wasn't my imagination: when a body was suddenly on top of me.

Blonde hair suffocated me. I tried to push the body off me, but found it hard since my arms were pinned under the petite body. She finally got off me and smiled. Jessica Bryant. My cousin. "Addie, I've been so worried about you!" I knew the words were true. Harper snickered and left to talk to the group of girls. But Lily, as always, had to stick her nose in it. "I'm assuming you're Jessica Bryant?" She smiled and put out her hand for Jess to shake. "I'm Lily." She introduced everyone else while I screamed into my pillow.

When she was finished, I looked at Jess. "How about we go down to the common room? So we can catch up?"

Apparently, Jess had been worried sick ever since I left the house. She mentioned that her mum and dad were also worried, but I didn't pay much attention to that. I expressed how shocked I was that she stood up to them since she had a history of being quiet and weak, and she told me how she stood up to them. She begged them to allow her to transfer to Hogwarts and they finally relented. I couldn't believe it. Her mum and dad may have been horribly strict and uptight, but she was always sweet and caring, never said anything out of line. I felt something stir in me at the thought of her taking up for me against her uptight parents. It felt nice to have someone on my side. Her blue eyes lit up when she spoke of how she grew a backbone. I think they grew brighter when I told her that I was proud of her. She smiled brightly and caught me up on everything I missed out on. Finally, we walked back up to the dorm and I helped her unpack her things and get settled in.

Before we went to bed, I asked to see her timetable. Turned out it was her timetable that Sirius switched with.

I laid down and sleep found me in no time.