Peter intertwines his hand with Mary as they stroll down the corridor together. They turn into the library, finding their friends stretched along an aisle. Lily and Remus have a stack of books between each other as they flip through them; James is playing with his snitch sitting with his feet propped up on the desk; Marlene and Alice are tossing Fizzing Whizzbees at each other in an attempt to catch them with their mouths.

"Hey guys," Mary says propping herself up on the desk. Her dainty legs kick swing back and forth, hitting a rogue whizzbee straight at James.

"Ow!" James exclaims grabbing his eye.

"Oh I'm sorry James!"

"It's fine." He grabs the candy fallen on his chest and pops it into his mouth. "Any luck guys?"

The group turns to Lily and Remus who shake their heads in despair. Lily slams the book in front of her, sliding it down the desk angrily. "There's not one spell that matches what happened!" she declares.

"It has to be somewhere," Marlene insists. "What else could have happened?"

Lily and James share a glance, quickly looking away before the girls caught on, as Remus' face falls.

"I don't know," Lily sighs. "But we can't give up."

"It had to have been Snape," James states with the nod of agreement from Marlene and Alice. "Sirius wouldn't do it."

"Yeah, James is right," Peter seconds.

"I want to believe that, too," Lily says apprehensively. "We can't rule out anything though. Both Seve-Snape and Sirius are very smart wizards. They're capable of doing strong magic."

"But Sirius wouldn't do this!" James argues. "Remus?"

Remus' face reddens, "Lily's right, Prongs. We have to think logically about this and not pick sides."

James scoffs, kicking his feet off the desk. Peter stays to himself in limbo between who to side with. "While you do that, I'm going to find Sirius before he gets expelled for being innocent."

*

*

*

Dumbledore folds his hands on his desk properly, his eyes shielded by his half moon spectacles. Sirius sits opposite of him, fatigued. Since last night he hadn't got the chance to to see his friends due to the intense interrogation among him and Severus Snape. He was allowed to get a break briefly, but nobody was in the common room when he returned. Next to him in an identical chair is Snape.

"Professor I didn't do it," Sirius pleads for the hundredth time.

"Well it wasn't me!" Snape argues. Sirius shoots a look out of the corner of his eye. "What -"

"Sirius, why were you following Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asks silencing their bicker.

Sirius fiddles his thumbs, strategically answering, "I wanted to talk to him." Snape rolls his eyes. "We had a fight a few or so ago and I wanted to apologize."

"But you knew he was transitioning last night."

"I thought maybe he hadn't done it yet. It was very cloudy last night."

Dumbledore takes in the information, bobbing his head. "And Severus, why were you following Ms. Ward?"

Now Snape sat in the hot seat. He avoids Sirius' eye as best as he can. "I heard a rumor she was going to attack another student."

"Yeah, me!" Sirius exclaims.

"And you wanted to defend Sirius?" Dumbledore questions.

"No -" Snape stops himself.

"So you did it," Sirius accuses.

"No! I didn't do it! It could have been Lupin."

Sirius shakes his head disbelievingly. "It wasn't Remus."

"How are you so sure it wasn't Lupin?"

"Because Remus wouldn't do that." Snape scoffs. "You don't know him, Sniv- Snape. Besides, why would he only attack Ward? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Black just admit it! You hated her and publicly threatened her while dueling. Speaking of which, has happened a lot recently. Clearly you're trying to cover your tracks since you attacked her!"

"Sod off, Snape! You and your Death -"

Snape raises an eyebrow, but McGonagall interrupts them by walking through the door. Her appearance is frazzled, slightly out of breath. "I have the results from Poppy." The pieces of parchment are clutched in her nimble hands. Putting her spectacles on, she scans over the words. Sirius' breath hitches when she speaks again. "It was most definitely...a spell," she announces. Sirius exhales with immense relief. "Mr. Lupin is innocent."

"I told you," Sirius mutters to Snape.

Dumbledore takes the examination forms for himself, reviewing them. "I would like to speak with each of you alone," he says. "Sirius first."

"Come with me Mr. Snape," McGonagall instructs, propping the door open.

When the two are gone, Sirius relaxes slightly in his seat. "Take a sherbet lemon," Dumbledore offers. He pushes the bowl of yellow candies towards Sirius who respectfully declines. "Very well. I promise you that the consequences will be severe for the attack of Ms. Ward. It will not do well to lie in any case. So tell me, why were you going to see Remus Lupin last night in the event of the full moon?"

Sirius toys with the strings of his sweatshirt. "Can I get that sherbet lemon now?" he jokes nervously. Taking the small yellow candy, he pops it into his mouth before leaning over the armrest and spitting it out.

"They're sour," Dumbledore says with a twinkle in his eye.

Blushing, Sirius wipes his mouth. "Okay. Two weeks ago I got in a fight with Remus...about his girlfriend. You see, Professor...I fancy him. Like, really fancy. And we hadn't talked the past two weeks from our fight. And last night I was going to apologize and tell him that I - that I love him."

"But you never did?"

"No. When I was walking up to the Whomping Willow I heard a noise."

"Ms. Evans."

"Yeah, I guess so. And then Ward comes out of nowhere with her wand drawn at me, ready to duel."

"Which is when Severus appeared as well." Sirius nods. "Then what happened in your eyes."

"Well I don't really remember, you see." Sirius leans forward, rubbing his temples. "It got very cold and I couldn't see much through the snow. And the next thing I know I'm out cold. When I woke up, Lily Evans was standing over me."

"Is it possible the spell you casted backfired and that was why you were knocked out?"

"No, Sir. I don't remember ever casting a spell last night. Aside from Lumos."

Dumbledore surveys Sirius carefully, running his hands along the examination from Madam Pomfrey. "Poppy Pomfrey could not identify the spell used against Ms. Ward. Have you ever created a spell before?"

"No."

"Do you know anybody who has?"

"Um, no."

Dumbledore opens his drawer, pulling out Sirius' school bag. "This was confiscated from your dorm search by Professor Flitwick," he tells Sirius. Opening the bag, he pulls out his copy of Advanced Potion Making textbook. "I found it quite interesting to read." Opening the book, he holds his thumb down on the pages as he flips through them steadily. Sirius' eyes widen at all the markings on the margins. They weren't his drawings, but rather notes. The entire book was filled with markings correcting the instructions to spells, tips for proper execution of potion making, and spells.

"Sectumsempra," Dumbledore reads, stopping on a particular page. "Properly translated to: cut forever."

"That's not my book," Sirius replies confusedly. "I've never seen that in my life!"

"It was found in your possession."

"Mine has drawings in it - stupid things like trees and circles."

Dumbledore snaps the book shut, keeping it aside as he hands Sirius his bag back. "Sirius, please do not discuss this amongst the students. It is crucial that this information remains within the witnesses and staff. I suggest you get some rest."

Sirius pushes himself up from the chair, eyeing the book heavily. "That's a load of bull Professor," he says. "No offense."

Snape replaces Sirius moments after, brushing his slick hair back. Just as he'd done with Sirius, Dumbledore asks him to honestly repeat the events of last night. "Severus, what rumor had you heard that made you threaten Ms. Ward?" Dumbledore inquires.

"I...I was told she was going to attack Lily Evans," Snape reveals shyly.

"And you didn't stand down when you saw Sirius Black?"

"No, Sir."

"Why is that?"

"Lily Evans is important to me. I don't care what happens to Black."

"Enough to curse him with dark magic?" Saliva catches in Snape's throat causing an outburst of coughs. Dumbledore takes the same Potions book found in Sirius' bag, and slides it across the table. "Familiar?" Snape picks up the book, the binding smooth against his fingers. Opening the book, he flips through the pages immediately recognizing it, but he doesn't reply. "This was found in the possession of Sirius Black. As I've been told, you were the one to heal Ms. Ward last night with the spell, Vulnera Sanentur." Snape lowers his head, rubbing the marked page between his fingers. "Curiously, it's also written in this book."

"It's my spell," Snape admits.

"I'm impressed Severus. It takes a great deal of power and intelligence from a witch or wizard create a spell. Let alone for a sixth year."

"I didn't use it against Ward."

"But you've used it against James Potter, last year if I recall." Snape's mouth falls open - the memories of his worst nightmare flooding in. "Why this book was with Sirius Black, though it rightfully belongs to you, puts you both as suspects. Unfortunately the consequences of this will result in expulsion - something I don't want to do to either of you."

"Professor you must believe me," Snape asserts. "Black is vicious, cruel. He was determined to harm Ward and I don't doubt for a second that he used my spell. He's capable of many things."

"It is our choices, Severus, that show us who we truly are, far more than our abilities."