Another week passes with no word from Remus or the boys and it's time for our first quidditch game. Sirius and I don't look at one another as we line up and head out into the pitch to a screaming crowd. For once, it's easy to find Lily because of Hagrid just beside her with red and yellow ribbons in his beard. A genuine smile lights my face and I spare a moment to wave at them before taking my place. Sirius and I meet eyes and he nods to me, an agreement to do whatever it takes to win this game despite our personal lives, and I nod back. We're against Ravenclaw today, so we'll need a strategy to win.

"Alright, I want a clean, fair game!" Coach announces before she points her wand at the chest in the middle of the field. My hands squeeze my broom a little harder. The stadium is quiet for a moment as she casts the spell to open everything, but it bursts at the same time the case does.

It's mayhem as all the chasers smash together in competition for the quaffle, but as soon as the head chaser of Ravenclaw emerges with it I'm hitting a bludger her way. "And almost instantly there's a solid hit from the beautiful Arell Ackley to Barnett which puts the quaffle back into Gryffindor's hands!" Creary's familiar voice comes over the intercom and I smile at his inappropriate use of adjectives. I hadn't realized I'd missed him. "I've heard there's a little trouble in paradise with the Gryffindor beaters, so it'll be interesting to see how they fare-" And the feeling's gone.

"Mr. Creary, this is not for gossip. Keep to quidditch." I'm thankful for McGonagall intervening although there are a few boos from the crowd.

"It was about the players who are playing quidditch, professor, doesn't that count?"

"No."

I'm pulled away from their conversation when I see our captain being bombarded by Ravenclaw chasers. I look for Sirius, but he's busy batting bludgers away from our keeper. It'll just be me then. My uniform whips and snaps as the winds plays with it behind me. I square up my shot and whistle. Connelly glances to me and I barely have time to flick my chin up before the bludger is whizzing at me and I've got to swing. Just in time, Connelly pulls up and the bludger hits the player blocking her from the side which knocks him into the other player that was on her right. They tailspin into the nearest tower while Connelly makes a goal.

"The first goal goes to Gryffindor! Ten points made by the incomparable captain Connelly with a little help from beater Ackley!" Sirius seeks me out after he hears my name and I nod to him so he knows I'm alright. He nods back and we continue on our own separate ways.

It's fifty to seventy with Ravenclaw in the lead when the snitch is sighted and the tension in the air is palpable. A catch would end the game and grant either team a win. "And Brightly, the Ravenclaw Seeker, is instantly on the snitch! Shocking since you'd think reading books in the dim library would have damaged her eyes-"

"Mr. Creary!"

"but obviously not! Gryffindor seeker Kaur is just behind, so it looks like we'll have a race!" Creary shouts into the mic before McGonagall tugs him back by the scruff of his robes. I slam a shot at Ravenclaw's keeper which she dodges just in time for James to get a goal, but it won't mean a thing if that snitch is caught. My mind is racing as I think of what to do to help. My eyes reflexively go to Sirius only to find the Ravenclaw beaters hovering around him.

"Oh shit." I breathe and forget everything about the game while going as fast as I can towards Sirius. The beaters aim and fire, two bludgers now head towards Sirius at breakneck speed. He can handle one, but there won't be enough time to handle two. There won't even be enough time for me to get to him and swing my own bat. "Sirius!" I shout and he looks my way before noticing only one of the bludgers and turning his back to the other. "No!" I push my broom to go faster and just have a slice of time where I throw myself between him and the other bludger.

There's a sickening crack then crunch as the ball makes contact with my collarbone and shoulder along with the snap of Sirius hitting the other away. Still pitched forward, I don't have the strength to stop my broom before ramming into one of the goalposts. Everything goes blurry and there's the sensation of falling before I can't sense anything.

* * * * *

"It was daft, is the point."

"Would you rather Sirius' bones be mush, Evans? Could've hit his back! He'd be paralyzed!"

"I would rather no one's bones be anything other than bones, Potter!"

"Well, they're still bones, they're just all...crunchy."

"That's a terrible way of putting it, James."

"Yes, no more of that, please.

"Yes, thank you, Remus and Peter."

"I never said it wasn't horrible! It is horrible, I'm just saying it was also bloody brilliant."

"Still, she couldn't have told him to dodge?"

"We all know...Sirius' penchant to listen." I whisper groggily while my eyes slowly open. As suspected, Lily, Peter, Remus, and James are all here and in that order from my left to the right. The surprise is Sirius sitting there silently to my right.

"Arell! I swear if you weren't injured, I'd properly injure you myself." Lily scolds, but the presence of flowers in a vase, a few sweets, and a heavy blanket over my feet from our dorm speaks opposite to her words.

"How're you feeling?" Remus asks and I clear my throat to answer but Sirius is there in an instant with a cup of water and a straw. Surprised, but unwilling to go without a drink, I take a sip before speaking.

"Stiff. Am I wrapped like a mummy?" I lift my hand and pat my right shoulder and collarbone only to find gauze.

"Don't move too much. I'll go get Madam Pomphrey." Lily says and starts walking, then backtracks. "Make sure she doesn't move." She says to the boys and gives them each a harsh look before rushing off. I look to the boys. This is Remus and Peter's first time seeing the mark and while Remus is cool as a cucumber, Peter is still a little pale and can't look away from the dark mark.

"So who is going to help me sit up?" I ask and they grin. Sirius and Remus instantly move up and gingerly help me sit so I can see them all properly. "What happened with the game?" Remus rolls his eyes, but I can see the answer when James' shoulders droop.

"Lost. But we can still qualify. One loss doesn't put us out just yet." I deflate a little but nod in agreement.

"How long have I been out of commission?" I ask and only now realize that Sirius is holding my right hand. I've barely any feeling in that arm at all so I haven't noticed. The corners of his lips lift when he notices me looking and he shrugs.

"This is the fifth day." He answers and his voice sounds as rough as mine.

"Are you alright though?" Sudden concern rises in me when I remember I didn't get to see if he'd knocked the bludger away. I thought I heard it, but what if I was wrong and he was hit anyway? He chuckles along with the others.

"I'm physically perfect. Not a scratch on me, thanks to you." I release a deep breath of relief at that but wince slightly as pain tinges my shoulder. "Take things slow. Madam Pomphrey says you had a shattered collarbone, broken arm, and dislocated shoulder. You're healed, but the magic and bone need time to settle." I wince at the list of injuries he gives me.

"It was pretty amazing what you did, Mane. I could barely believe I saw the whole of it with my own eyes." James bounces on the balls of his feet and I'm glad to see they're all happy and talking to me again. Although Sirius is still subdued for some reason. "The most Gryffindor thing I've seen, without a doubt."

"But feel free never to do that again," Remus says with a gentle hand skimming my good shoulder.

"Move away, move away, I've got to see my patient!" Madam Pomphrey arrives and shoos everyone at least a foot away as she shuffles around me. "Any pain, Miss Ackley? You've been through quite the ordeal." She asks and tenderly starts to unwrap the binding.

"A little when I move that shoulder." She nods as her deft hands move faster and faster.

"Ah, yes, well that's to be expected. Lucky it wasn't worse, honestly." She says and finally, we're down to skin. Lily and the boys all grimace at the sight of the nasty splotches of black and blue. Even from what I can see it isn't too pretty. "Not too bad, not too bad at all. After today you'll be able to manage on your own, but you'll be stuck in a special sling for another week I'm afraid."

"Another week?" I gawk and she sighs as if she's heard all this before. I suppose she has, but that's never stopped me. "But I write with this hand, cast spells, and what about quidditch?"

"No quidditch for you for a while, missy. As for classes, your friends have managed quite well and I'm sure will continue to do so." She inclines her head to my line of friends as I sigh. "Miss Evans has also been attentive in learning what things you can and cannot do and I'm assured she'll keep an eye out for you." This is given with a pointed look as if she knows I'm a rulebreaker. Which I am, so, pretty fair. Madam Pomphrey carefully helps me into the sling which cages my shoulder and pins my right arm to my chest. Yay, healing. She steps back and admires her handiwork with a satisfied nod. "Good. Now drink all of this by nightfall. The rest of you, behave." She scolds before walking off. I look at the brownish-green liquid in the glass and my nose scrunches up.

"Don't make me birdie feed that to you." James threatens and Lily scoffs.

"It's a liquid. How would you do that?"

"I'd drink it then squirt it into her mouth like a fountain."

"God, that is one of the worst things you have ever said. And you've said a lot of stupid shit."

I quickly down the whole rotten thing and interrupt the squabble with the chink of glass against the table. They fall silent as I shake my head. "How long have you all been here?"

"Since the start!" Peter pipes up and my eyebrows go sky high. James waves off my surprise.

"Technically, we haven't been allowed to be here 24/7, so we've taken shifts. Except for Sirius, he's been here every night." James pats Sirius' back fondly with a knowing look in his eyes. My eyes go to Sirius as he sits back down beside me and takes my hand.

"You all shouldn't have. You have classes and need to sleep. I'll be fine, you all can-"

"Don't even try it, Mane." James interrupts me with a shake of his head. "Remus shared a few things with us when you were asleep and I must say I'm disappointed you thought you could be rid of us that easily," James says and his grin sobers a bit as I shoot Remus a look. The werewolf only shrugs.

"I told you either you tell them or I do. You were too slow." My eyes roll and Remus grins.

"And I was here to fill in a few gaps, so now we're all caught up," Lily assures me as I sigh, but my eyes look to James as he sidles a bit closer with a serious tint in his eyes.

"All this time you were just trying to protect us. You leaving my parents' house, the letters you wrote, not taking their offer, letting us give you the silent treatment." James shakes his head at me. "You've got to be either the strongest person I've ever known or the most stubborn. And I know Sirius." We laugh softly at that while Sirius lightly elbows his best friend. "We should've taken the time to figure out what was really going on and I'm sorry it took us so long." James apologizes and the sincerity is clear in his eyes and voice. Lily's face is shocked as she stares at him.

"I wouldn't have let you in, even if you'd tried." My eyes go to Sirius who half-smiles. "I didn't act right either. It was cowardly of me to run from the people that cared about me. And I said some awful things."

"We both did." Sirius interrupts and I nod.

"I'm sorry too." I finish and make sure to meet each pair of eyes. Each seems happier and lighter than the past few weeks, so that's at least a little bit of solace for me. "But I hope you understand it would still be best if you kept away from me-" That's received with various moans and groans from the entire group.

"Not a chance, Arell," Lily assures me first, her hand squeezing my left while her green eyes shine.

"Absolutely." James is next as he sits at the end of my bed by my feet. "Once you're in the group, you're in for life. Much to Evans' chagrin." He grins over at her as she rolls her eyes, but she has the tiniest of smiles on her face. "All of us will live in the same, what do muggles call those round hard things in neighborhoods?"

"Cul-de-sac," Remus mutters with a shaking of his head. James snaps his fingers.

"Yes, we'll all live in the same cul-de-sac and we'll race on our brooms up and down the street when we're eighty. How about that, Mane?"

"If we ever make it to eighty with all the danger that follows us around," I mutter and he pats my feet.

"Good, because you have no choice in the matter."

"How about we grab some food for Arell?" Remus suggests and I smile at him gratefully. "Peter and I'll head to the kitchens. Why don't both of you grab her something to wear that isn't bloody robes?" Lily and James glance at one another, Lily with a bit of a scrunched-up nose and James hopefully, before they stand. Kindly, Remus ushers everyone out until it's just Sirius and I.

*A/N*

RECONCILIATION!!!! ;) I must say, the birdie feeding thing that James said is honestly the most boy thing I have ever written. Suffice it to say I am extremely disturbed and proud.