"Of all the stupid shit you've attempted, this is by far the dumbest," Sirius informed the girl as they stood outside the Gryffindor common room.

"How many synonyms do you know for the word stupid?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't exactly have all day. If you don't want to be my second, I'll go find Lupin or something."

Sirius let out a breath, "I'll do it." She raised an eyebrow, "Merlin, James is going to kill me."

"James needs to get over himself," Angela rolled her eyes. "If he really cared, he would have said yes when I asked him to be my second."

"Of course he cares, Ang," Sirius huffed. "He's just worried. You're growing up and he can't exactly keep you on a leash at all times."

"When have I ever proven that I can't take care of myself?"

"Normally, I would say that you haven't but after today I'd have to say he's pretty reasonable about his concerns."

"I know what I'm doing," she said pointedly. "I can handle myself."

"Against Dark Magic?"

"I'll figure something out."

"You can't use Protego against an Unforgivable," he reminded her. "You have to physically dodge it or disarm or hex him before he can finish."

Angela let out a shaky breath, "Yeah, I know."

Sirius watched her for a moment, "You don't have to do this."

She shook her head, "Yes, I do." She looked behind herself for a moment, "Do you think James really won't come?"

He frowned, "I don't know. He seemed pretty upset earlier."

"We should head to the Tower," she suggested as she wrung her hands together. "I don't want him to get his hopes up by arriving late."

"Angela-"

"I really don't want to hear it Sirius," she cut him off, "Let's just go."

The two made their way to the Astronomy Tower in silence. As soon as they entered, Sirius pardoned himself. He made his way over to where his younger brother stood.

"You're her second, I take it?" Regulus asked and Sirius nodded. "Figured she would have asked her brother."

"She did," he pointed out. "He declined. He didn't care to see his little sister get killed by some deranged Slytherin. And quite frankly, neither do I so let's cut to the chase. There will be no killing."

Regulus sucked in a breath, "I think I can get him to agree to that."

"You think?" he demanded. "This isn't a game, Regulus, this is her life."

"You don't think I know that?" Regulus asked under his breath. "I told her to back off. To leave him alone but she-"

Sirius cut him off, "You knew this was going to happen?"

"Anyone within six feet of the two while they argued saw this coming," he replied simply. "She still has the chance to back out."

"Have you met the girl?" he inquired and they both looked over to see her staring out over the edge of the tower, her wand tapping against the wall anxiously. "She's far too stubborn to do that."

"Salazar, you Gryffindor's and your stupid bravery," Regulus huffed and the brothers both turned to look at each other again. "Step in if you have to. I don't care about the rules. I care about-" he cut himself off with a shake of his head and Sirius raised a curious eyebrow as the boy looked around, "Nobody has to die."

"And what about you?" Sirius asked. "Will you step in and stop Crouch if he gets out of line?"

"I can't," he replied, glancing back at the Slytherin's.

"This isn't politics," he pointed out.

"Are you blind, Sirius?" Regulus asked. "That's exactly what this is. This," he gestured around the room where the room was clearly split, Slytherin's and everyone else. Or more accurately, Death Eaters and everyone else, "This is only the beginning."

Sirius started to back away but he pointed at his brother, "No killing."

Regulus merely nodded before he walked away, joining Barty to inform him of the rules. Or rule, rather.

Sirius knew he should have bargained for more but he also knew that even asking for him not to kill the Gryffindor was asking too much of Crouch. He glanced back at the boy and saw that he had a scowl on his face as Regulus no doubt explained what Sirius had decided.

He just hoped Angela was as prepared as she seemed to think she was.

The two dueling made their way to the center of the floor.

Barty's head jerked forward slightly, his form of a bow. Angela cocked her head to the side in return and they both raised their wands. Neither held any form of respect for each other.

"On three," a Sixth year Ravenclaw stated. They had decided on an unbiased judge, and one who was a stickler for the rules was the safest bet for either side. "One...two...three."

Barty acted quickly, shooting a strong hex her way. Angela was quick to react, blocking his spell with her own.

"You have to actually fight back," Sirius reminded her with a wary tone.

"Shut up," she hissed as she took a step back. She quickly stepped to the side as a spell shot past her. "Stop distracting me, I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" he asked as she quickly conjured a shield, "Because it seems like you're only using defensive spells. You need to be offensive as well."

"I said," she repeated as she sent Barty's spell flying back at him, "I know," she did it again, "what," and again, "I'm doing." She shot one quick hex at his leg, sending him off balance, "Now shut the hell up and let me win this thing would you?"

"Incendio!" she exclaimed and the boy's sleeve caught on fire.

"What the hell?" Barty demanded as he pointed his wand at his arm, "Aguamenti." He looked up at her, anger clear in his eyes, "You can't do that!"

"The only rule we established was no killing, Crouch," she said pointedly. She could hear the whispers and gasps of surprise at the boy's now exposed forearm but she ignored it. She did what she needed to do. "And this means I win."

"You-"

"Crouch," Regulus said in a warning tone, his gaze flickering toward his friend's forearm where everyone else was staring.

"She's right," the Ravenclaw judge spoke up, a different edge in their tone. "The winner is Angela Potter."

"I will not lose to a filthy blood traitor!" Barty exclaimed in a fit of anger. He aimed his wand at Angela. Regulus reached forward to stop him as he shouted, "Avad-"

"Expelliarmus!"

Barty's wand flew from his hand and went flying off the tower. Everyone turned to look at the entrance to find James Potter standing there, red in the face, with a wide eyed Lily Evans standing behind him.

Sirius steadied Angela as she stumbled backward slightly. "He was gonna kill me..." she muttered, quiet enough so that only Sirius could hear.

"You're okay," he muttered as the crowd began to disperse, no doubt in worry that an authority figure would show up.

"His arm, did you see it?" a Hufflepuff asked their friend as they made their way to leave. "It was the mark."

"I didn't think it was real..." the friend trailed off. "But that was real."

"James, don't," Lily pleaded, her hand moving to his shoulder in an attempt to stop him.

Angela looked up to see that he was trying to go after Crouch who was talking to Regulus in a hushed tone. She made her way over to her brother and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was surprised but after a moment he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he apologized immediately.

She shook her head, fighting down the tears that were going to spill at some point. "No, I'm sorry," she countered, "Thank you."

"Anytime," he said in response, his hardened gaze flickering over to where Barty stood. "Please, don't do that again."

"No promises," she replied and he let out a huff as they pulled away from each other. "But next time you'll be at my side?"

He nodded, "Promise."