I don't own Harry Potter (I know it's unbelievable).

The next few weeks are hectic. After Sirius and Marlene broke up, Sirius went off on his own which obviously had us all worried. Marls has been staying with her family and hasn't really been talking to anyone. However, Alice and I have convinced her to come meet us for coffee today in a muggle café; it was Marlene's request we meet there to avoid anyone we might know.

I slip on some black skinny jeans and throw on a grey loose, long sleeved t-shirt. I throw my hair into a high ponytail and put on my makeup. James walks into our bedroom, slides his arms around my waist, and kisses my neck, as I sit at my dresser. I smile at his gentle touch.

'What's that for?' I ask him, looking at the mirror at his reflection.

'I just wanted to thank you for everything you've been doing,' he smiles.

'Don't worry about it babe. Have you heard from Sirius lately?'

'Yeah, I was just talking to him. He's at the flat,' he tells me casually.

'That's great! I'm glad he's home, at least we know where he is. How did he sound?'

'Not good, Lils. I have never seen him like this. He's never been this in love before, he doesn't know what to do,' James tells me with a frown. I stand up and wrap my arms around him. I feel bad for James, I know it hurts him to see Sirius like this; they're brothers. I squeeze him tightly.

'Ok, babe, I need to meet Marls now.'

'Alright, love. I think I'm going to go over and visit Sirius now anyway,' he says, planting a kiss on my lips.

I apparate to an alleyway beside the muggle café. I walk out and spot Alice and Marlene sitting in the window seat. I walk in and meet them. I kiss them both on the cheek and sit down opposite them. We order our drinks and make light chit chat for a while as we wait for our drinks. The waitress brings us our drinks and we stay quiet for a while, sipping our drinks.

'So, how are you?' Alice asks Marlene.

'Fine, it's been qui-' she starts, dancing around Alice's real question.

'No, Marls. How are you?' I ask more seriously. She looks at us both, considering the question for a moment.

'I miss him,' she replies, her voice wobbling slightly on the 'him'. I give her a sad smile and Alice puts her arm around her. 'Have you heard from him?' Marlene asks.

I nod, 'Yeah, James is just going to visit him now, actually.'

'How's he been, like, is he ok?' she asks, rushing her words out.

I look at Alice and she nods. 'Honestly, Marls? He's been in a bad way. After you broke up, he… went away for a bit. I don't know where but he's not good,' I tell her truthfully. She looks sadly out of the window, trying to keep her face straight and voice steady.

'Why did you do it?' Alice asks her softly.

'I don't love him anymore,' she says steadily but avoiding eye contact. I snap.

'Marlene McKinnon, don't you dare say that. That boy loves you with all his heart and you love him too. Stop being so stubborn! I know what happened to you is not fair; not fair at all. He doesn't blame you for it, no one does! He just wants to be with you. You are his family, without you he's got nothing!' I rant at her. Alice looks at her cautiously, judging her reaction.

'He's got you and all his friends,' she replies simply. I sit there fuming. Marlene excuses herself to go to the bathroom.

'Lily, what are you doing?' Alice asks me confused.

'All she needs is a bit of tough love. Tell me you didn't agree with any of the points I made.' She sits there quietly. 'Exactly! That girl needs to understand how much he needs her and this is the only way she's going to listen.'

Marlene returns and Alice and I take up our 'tough love' stance. Eventually we get through to her. She agrees to talk to him but she's still staying with her family for the time being. We all hug and say our goodbyes before leaving the café. I return home at about three in the afternoon and find James already back at our house as well.

'How'd it go?' he asks me, walking into the kitchen to meet me.

'I was hard on her which I feel bad about but I got through to her and she agreed to speak with him,' I tell him, judging his reaction. He sighs relieved.

'I'm glad, Lils, he wasn't good when I saw him today. He tried to act fine and avoided my questions. He just doesn't know how to deal with it,' James tells me. I can tell how upset he is feeling for his best friend, so I reach out and hug him. He returns my hug, holding me close to him.

~0o0o0o0o0o0~

Sirius

I miss her. I refuse to believe that she doesn't love me anymore. It's the biggest load of shit I've heard in my life, I don't know why she feels like she has to 'protect' me. I lie on my sofa in my apartment, trying to block out the ache in my heart and buzzing in my head. However, I am interrupted from my hurting by a sharp knock on the door. Slowly, I stand up and walk towards the door clutching my wand. I open the door and drop my wand in shock. Before me stands the woman that has caused my pain. I must stand there for a minute not moving because she places her hand on to me to get me to move. Her touch feels like electricity, a buzz I can only get from being with her.

'Come in,' I say, standing back making way for her to come in. She walks in and we stare at each other for a while. Unfortunately, she breaks the gazing and begins to look uncomfortable.

'Sirius, we need to talk,' she starts. That's it. I nod in compliance and we sit. 'I'm sorry for how things ended…'

'It's not over,' I reply quickly.

'Sirius, yes. It is.'

'Marlene, stop lying! This is just a load of shit! I understand, Merlin I know more than everyone else that what we've gone through is awful. I know we'll never fully get over it but we can find another way past it. Please, just give me chance!' I beg her, my voice cracking. I stare at her, pleading for her to answer; instead, she starts crying. Violent, heart-wrenching sobs and I can't control myself so I reach out and hold her. At first she resists but she stops struggling and just cries. It feels like I'm trying to hold together all the broken pieces inside her so I don't let go. We stay like that for what seems like hours, even after all her tears had run dry I held her.

Eventually, she looks up and simply says, 'thank you,' her voice croaking. I just nod in reply. She sits up properly and looks at me intently. 'I'm sorry but we just really need to take it slow again,' she explains to me.

'Anything,' I reply, 'I just don't want to lose you again.' She smiles, her eyes filled with tears and kisses me. It was a sweet kiss, filled with love and all the unspoken words of hurt, grieving but hope. Hope that things would get better and I pray that they do.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter; leave a review please on what you think!