Two months later...

"Sirius Black, are you trying to convince me that you did not cast an illegal hex on Bertram Aubrey with Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked, staring down at him in disbelief.  

"No," Sirius replied, standing up, "I am trying to convince you that it was not James's fault and that I alone made poor Bertram's head grow twice its size. Prongs-I mean James just so happened to be there at the time."  

"But, Mr. Black, that is not what Bertram said," McGonagall pointed out, "And that is not what Potter said, either. Bertram said that you both did it, Potter said that he did it, and now you're trying to convince me that you did it alone. So, who is it I should believe?"  

"Well, it doesn't really matter who you choose to believe, because no matter what at least one of us is getting punished," Sirius said.  

"So, are you telling me that I should punish you both?" McGonagall suggested, "Because I am perfectly willing to do that."  

"No. I am telling you that you should just punish me, but if you think you must then go right ahead."  

"Well, I think I must," she said, "Would you please open the door and let Aubrey and Potter in?"  

Sirius shrugged and walked to the door to open it.  

"What's the verdict, Padfoot?" James asked, smiling hopefully.  

"I'm sorry to say it, mate," Sirius replied, "But we're both in trouble. Again."  

"Oh, come on, Lily," Rowan whispered as she stowed some books onto the top of one of the many bookshelves in the library. "That's ridiculous. Why would Sirius do that?"  

"Don't shoot the messenger," Lily defended, "I heard it from Alice, who heard it from Frank, who heard it from Peter, who heard it from Remus, who heard it from Sirius himself as he and James were being dragged away by their ears."  

"I will shoot the messenger for telling me this during my detention," Rowan threatened, "I'll get into even more trouble if the librarian catches me talking to you."  

"What did you do, exactly?"  

"Out past curfew with Sirius," she replied, "He tried to help me get out of there but the gamekeeper caught us. What's that guy's name again? Hagrid?"  

"I think so," Lily muttered, "Rubeus Hagrid, I think."  

"Well, he didn't really mean to catch us," Rowan explained, "It was sort of an accident; we were hiding behind a bunch of these huge pumpkins and he came out and sort of yelled in surprise, and his voice carries a lot, so the Slytherin Prefects who were following us knew exactly where to find us in the dark."  

"Well didn't Sirius get punished?" Lily asked.  

"Yes," Rowan replied, "He had to write about a million lines yesterday while I'm stuck here, sorting out every single book in this part of the library, and tomorrow I'm stuck with the restricted section. Once it's all fixed, I'm free, but until then I have to keep doing this until the library is absolutely perfect."  

"But that's nearly impossible," Lily said, "Everybody goes to the library and everybody takes books off the shelves. That's the most ridiculous detention I've ever heard of."  

"I know," Rowan agreed, "They're trying to get it into my head not to be as much of a troublemaker as my boyfriend. For him, they know it's hopeless so they just keep giving him a variety of different punishments to see if any of them will work."  

"Did he have to test potions yet?" Lily asked, "The only detention I ever got and I've been good ever since."  

"No, I don't believe he got that yet," she muttered, "But he has gotten everything from a beating to banned from Hogsmeade. He just won't stop, and they're starting to get sick of hearing the stories about what he and James did.  

"I think they just expect another visit every week," she concluded, shelving the last book, "Now, please go. I'm just going to get into more trouble if I'm caught talking with you, and I'd rather not have to add on to the misery."  

"Okay, have it your way," Lily said, "I'll go. But maybe once you're done here you should go look for your boyfriend. I'll bet you a Galleon he's gotten himself into some sort of trouble."  

At that she turned on her heel and left the library.  

Rowan sighed. She knew how high the chances were that Sirius actually had gotten into even more trouble, like he really needed any more. He was practically on McGonagall's "Suspend" list, he'd done so much in the past few months since school started.  

She left the aisle and was a little surprised to find that the librarian had left a note for her.

Rowan-  

I left, knowing that you could take care of things until I'm back. I'll come back after a few hours. Don't leave the library until I am back. Until then, the keys to the restricted section I have left on my desk. You may get a head start on that, otherwise just wait at my desk and help anybody who needs it. You probably know this library better than any other student in the school, so you should feel proud that I'm asking you to do this. Have fun and get to work!

It wasn't signed, but it was in the librarian's handwriting at least. That was enough for her. Taking the keys and a pile of books left on the desk, Rowan sighed and headed for the gate into the restricted section.

"How was detention?" Sirius asked when he saw Rowan enter the common room a few minutes before nine.  

"I should ask you the same question," she replied a little angrily.  

He looked generally confused.  

She slammed her books down in front of him, looked him in the eyes and asked, "Did you or did you not put a hex on Bertram Aubrey that made his head double in size just because you were bored?"  

"Oh," he said, "Well, um, I did-"  

"Sirius!"  

"Sorry?"  

"Tell that to Bertram what's-his-face!"  

She picked up her books in a huff and began towards the stairs, only to be pulled back by Sirius's rough, grabbing hand.  

"You've never reacted this way before," he said, "What's wrong?"  

"I don't know," she replied, "I just wish you would stop getting into so much trouble over stupid things. I barely ever get to see you because you're swamped with detentions!"  

"We have time now."  

She looked up at him, a good head taller than she was. And after a moment, she smiled a bit.

Dear Mom,  

How are things going? Everything's fine here. We just got a beautiful blanket of snow last night. If only you could see it! Everything is white and it's beginning to feel like winter.  

I'm coming home over break. I can't wait to see you! I've missed you so much, and little Robert. I'm sorry to have missed his fifth birthday. Did he at least get my present?  

I really like Sirius. He's so great! Can he come over for the holidays? Only for a couple of days, I mean. He isn't really looking forward to being home and it seems like he'd be spending most of his time at James's house. His parents don't exactly treat him like a most beloved son, and I can't help but feel sort of sympathetic for him. He's been through a lot lately, what with his brother being so perfect in his parent's eyes and him being so...not. He doesn't act like it, but I do think he loves his family. He just hates their beliefs, and maybe he's jealous of Regulus. I wouldn't know, though. He's sort of secretive.  

Please try to write back soon! I miss you something awful!  

Rowan

Fitting the paper into an envelope, Rowan walked down the stairs out of the dormitory. Sirius was talking to James, Remus and Peter, lounging by the fire lazily. He grinned as she passed by and continued with their conversation.  

With a scarf wrapped around her neck, a hat and mittens, and her warm cloak on, she left the castle to go to the Owlery.  

As she climbed the steps, she found that there were layers of invisible ice on many of the steps, and on one of the top steps she slipped.  

The feeling of her feet falling out from under her was terrifying. She gasped in fear and shock, trying desperately to catch herself.  

Something else caught her instead. A familiar rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.  

Grateful and a little surprised, she looked up to thank Sirius, but found herself staring into the eyes of his little brother instead.  

"Oh," she said, "Hi, Regulus."  

"Rowan," he greeted stiffly, letting go of her arm.  

"What's up?" she asked.  

"Not much," he replied, "You don't have to pretend to like me just because you're with my brother."  

"Who said I was pretending?"  

"Oh, please," he said, "You're a Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin. We're practically sworn enemies."  

"Your brother's in Gryffindor," she reminded him, "You two aren't 'sworn enemies'."  

"That's what you think," he muttered.  

"What makes you think that you and Sirius are enemies?" she asked.  

"He never talks to me, and when he does, we're just arguing about how everybody thinks I'm so perfect and he's just the older brother of the 'perfect one.' He hates me."  

She put a hand on his shoulder and sympathized, "He doesn't hate you. You're his brother!"  

"That's what everybody says, but they don't have to live with it." He shook off her hand and pushed passed her.  

"Goodbye, Regulus," she called. He glared up at her for a split-second and then continued on.  

Rowan sighed. Poor kid, she thought. If he thought his brother hated him, how did Sirius really treat him at home? He rarely ever talked about his family or his house.  

In the Owlery, she found her barn owl and sent him to her home. She really did miss her family; her loving, crazy mother and her beautiful, smart brother. Her parents had gotten divorced before Robby was born, and she'd left for school a few weeks later.  

Leaning on the windowsill, she watched the small bird fly off, growing smaller and smaller until she couldn't even see the tiniest speck in the sky. Then she left the Owlery to take a walk around the grounds.  

Students in their cloaks were black spots amongst the gorgeous white of everything. Some were having snowball fights, some were building snowmen, and some were making snow angels. Others were just walking around, talking, and appreciating the beauty of the fresh snow.  

Rowan particularly loved to walk along the beach. It reminded her of a lake she liked to visit back home.  

After a few minutes of staring out across the Black Lake, warm, firm arms wrapped themselves around her waist, making her jump a bit.  

"Guess who," a voice whispered into her ear.  

"I wonder," she muttered as she turned around in Sirius's arms, giving him a quick kiss. "How'd you find me?"  

"I just know you," he responded simply, "Plus, you stick out like a sore thumb out here. Anybody could probably see you from the Astronomy Tower."  

"Wow, and I was trying so hard to be inconspicuous."  

"Same here."  

"What?"  

At that moment, he smiled evilly as he pulled away and began to walk away from her. "What are you doing?" she asked just before he turned around again and threw a perfectly round (and cold) snowball at her, which then proceeded to hit her arm.  

Giggling, she bent down to make one, finding a perfect opportunity when Sirius seemed to be distracted by something walking behind her, when she was hit in the back of the head with another one. She turned around to see James waving at her, Remus shaking his head but smiling, and Peter laughing so hard he was rolling around in the snow.  

She pulled back to throw one at James, but then thought it'd be more of a surprise if she didn't, and turned to quickly throw it at Sirius...  

...who wasn't there.  

Confused, she looked around to try and find him, only to be bombarded from behind her.  

Extremely frustrated, she turned around again and threw her snowball at James instead, but her aim wasn't that great, and it hit Remus.  

Within a few seconds it had turned into all-out war between the three boys, who had flooded onto the beach, and Rowan, who was still trying to find Sirius while making and throwing as many snowballs as she possibly could.  

Suddenly, she saw him, on top of the hill in his Animagus form, huge and purely black against the merging white of the snow and sky. The fur on his back was sticking up, his tail was straight out, and his lips were curled back, revealing bared teeth. Curious and, for the first time, frightened, she looked to see who the target of his rage was.  

She should've known, but hadn't thought about it at the time. Approximately three yards ahead of the fiendish dog was a quivering Severus Snape.

In Sirius's mind, Snivelly would only get what he deserved. What did he deserve? He had a lot in mind.  

How dare he speak about them that way? How dare anybody talk about them that way? He didn't think even Snivelly was stupid enough to mess with him, let alone a second time.  

First, he dared to call her a Mudblood. Funny, his best friend was a Muggle-born, too, so what right did he have going around, calling people's girlfriends Mudbloods? None whatsoever. And yet, he still did it, and now he was going to pay.  

Second, he bragged to his gang of freaks about how two months earlier he'd thrown him against a wall, and how even though Rowan had pretty much destroyed the effect, he knew just how to get back at them. Sirius, admittedly, liked attention, and, frankly, he enjoyed getting a lot of it. But he did not like being taunted for being thrown against a beam during an unfair duel, and he didn't like being threatened, either. At all.  

And third and foremost, Snivelly was watching them, like it was some sort of freak show, he just stood there staring at them. Not a friendly gaze or even an angry glare, but just a disgusted stare. And the moment Snivelly saw that he had seen him, they all laughed at him.  

Not a smart move.  

He'd wandered over to a bush when Rowan had gotten smacked on the back of the head by a ball of snow thrown by Prongs, transformed, and sneaked up the hill as the gang tried to figure out where he'd gone.  

And then they saw a giant, angry dog making its way closer and closer to them.  

Like the bunch of cowards they were, all of the gang ran off from fright, but Snivelly was petrified. His cold, empty black eyes were wide with shock and fear, his arms were clamped tight to his sides, his mouth hung open in a silent scream, and he dared not move, maybe in the hopes that the dog would leave him be, or maybe from the fear that if he did move he would be chased.  

Whatever the reason, Snivellus did not move, which made it all the more easier for the insane dog to carry out his even less sane plans.  

Suddenly, he heard a familiar, fearful voice calling out, "Snuffles! Get over here right now, you bad dog!"  

Sirius realized that a low, menacing growl was starting in his chest. Did he really want to listen to her, or did he want to ignore her and give Snivelly a piece of his mind.  

"Snuffles! If I have to call you one more time you will not be a happy dog! Get over here right now!"  

Yeah, he wanted to listen to her.  

Furiously, Sirius barked at the quivering boy before him. Severus jumped about a foot in the air at the sound, but seemed to relax a little bit when he saw the dog back away and run down the hill towards the owner of the voice.  

Rowan was more scared than angry. Not as much scared for Snivelly, but that Sirius would seriously hurt him. She, of all people, would know how bad his temper was, and how angry he could get over the smallest things.  

When the dog got to her, she kneeled down in the snow and slapped his nose. He recoiled as if in shock that she would do such a thing, but then she pulled him back to her and hugged him hard, whispering, "Don't ever scare me like that again."  

James, Remus, and Peter, who had watched the whole ordeal with astonished expressions, wandered over to them and began to pat the naughty dog on the head.  

"You sure can get menacing, Padfoot," James said, "You even had me scared, and that's saying something."  

Sirius barked pleasantly.  

James then pulled a ball out of his pocket and threw it across the beach, yelling, "Catch!"  

Sirius woofed again, turned and chased the ball.  

"Where did you get a ball?" Rowan asked, "And why was it in your pocket?"  

"It's a quaffle," James explained, "Nicked it, shrunk it, carry it around as a souvenir of my own cleverness."  

Rowan laughed, "That's right, because you and Sirius are the cleverest students this school has ever seen."  

"You know it."  

Sirius came back with the shrunken quaffle and gave it to James, who then proceeded to throw it again, and that was how the morning went.  

"What exactly did Snape do that angered you so much?"  

"He has to do something?"  

"Sirius!"  

"You caught me," Sirius said as they walked through the hallways to get to the moving staircases. "That freak was watching us on the beach and I didn't like it. And, you know me with my awesome dog hearing, I heard everything they were saying."  

"What was that?" Rowan asked.  

"Well, first they were talking about how disgusting it was to see a Black with a 'Mudblood,' so I was already pissed. Then, he bragged to his gang of freaks about how two months ago he rammed me into a wall with a spell he cast when I had my back turned. And, I heard him talking about..."  

He stopped, deep in thought, until Rowan finally couldn't bear it any longer and asked, "Heard him talking about what?"  

"Moony," he finished, "They were talking about how he goes to the Willow every month and how he's desperate to figure out where he's going. And I heard him say that he's got a few spells in mind to force Moony to tell them."  

"He's just bluffing," Rowan said, but even she wasn't sure, "You know that gang of misfits, they're always saying they'll do bad things to you, but really they're just a bunch of cowards who can't do anything without being told to. Otherwise, they're lost."  

"Sure," Sirius agreed, "But you and I both know that Snivelly knew more curses and hexes in his first year than half of the seventh years. It's been five long years, and he's bound to have even more by now. I'm telling you, that creep's fascination with the Dark Arts are really starting to freak me out."