Plagued with distraction and a clouded mindset, Hermione left the boy's dorm that night empty handed. After Mary left and Sirius took a moment to himself, he too, Hermione assumed, made his way back to the Halloween dance. She slipped out from under Peter's junk, gave it one last look, and scurried back to her own dorm room. Hermione got into bed early that night, but her thoughts about the failed night kept her up.

Would he really be dumb enough to hide vital evidence against his name in the comfort of his own room?

At least she could check one box, even though the dorm room had been a fantastic waste of time for her. The only thing she got out of it was knowing that Sirius fancied someone, part of her believing that she herself had nothing to do with the matter. But knowing made her even more anxious than before.

Sirius, on the other hand, was left in shock after Mary dropped her feelings for him down on him like a grenade. Puzzled was only one words to describe the thoughts going through his head: he truly had not seen Mary's 'feelings' for him coming at all. As Mary disappeared from view and the clicking of her heels faded, Sirius remained motionless in his dorm, which was empty to his knowledge.

A few moments of peace didn't take his mind off Mary's sudden statement.

I'm not that oblivious, am I? Distracted maybe, but by what, Harper? Even though I'm actually able to admit to myself that I fancy her, is she really that much of a distraction?

His mind wandered to Harper as he headed for the girls dorm in search of her, leaving his own. And nothing. Marlene's cat was the only source of life there as of now.

Walking back to the Halloween Party, Sirius was still drowning in his thoughts about Harper. He had never actually found her, was she okay? And for the remainder of the Halloween party, while Remus and Dorcas got their alone time, Peter and Emma tore up the dance floor, and James and Lily inched closer together, Sirius found himself in a pit of loneliness, missing the girl in the black tassel dress.

For both Hermione and Sirius, the next day couldn't come soon enough. Tomorrow gave the impression of a new start, a new activity, a new distraction from each other. Thankfully, taking place would be Gyffindor's debut Quidditch Match against Slytherin. Watching James compete for Gryffindor as their star chaser could easily take their mind off the previous night's outcome. And puzzling enough, Lily couldn't sit still out of excitement for the match.

"Merlin, Lily, what on earth was in your juice this morning?" commented Marlene on the ginger's excessive energy, and under her breath, whispered, "and where can I get some?" in a devious fashion.

She smiled back, "first Quidditch Match! I'm excited to watch our friends destroy Slytherin."

"Any friend in particular, Lils?" interrogated Sirius, making reference the very boy who had to leave breakfast early for the match warmup. While most everyone at the table giggled at the now-blushing Lily, Sirius and Hermione exchanged the same glance at each other that they did at the Three Broomsticks just a few days prior. Another instance of Lily possibly showing a slight interest in James? they spoke with their eyes.

Then, Lily was no longer the only person at the table who was blushing. A new color rose to the new girl's face as she watched Sirius lean back on the bench and poke fun at Lily some more. The second his grey eyes found Hermione again, she darted hers away and nervously swallowed another bite of her breakfast.

Maybe she had looked for a little too long, because the color on her cheeks had yet to fade, and that same gut-wrenching feeling returned to her stomach, the same one she was so desperately trying to get rid of.

But now for the rest of breakfast, on the way to back to the common room, Hermione found herself playing the moment Sirius looked back at her over and over again, for reasons she either didn't know of or didn't want to accept. Why couldn't she get those grey eyes out of her head?

Once they were back in the common room, Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear a striking sentence spoken by Peter.

"I'm, um, going to sit with Emma in the Slytherin section if that's alright with you guys, she's adamant on giving lots of support to Lucinda for her Quidditch debut, " he spoke, receiving a moment of silence that felt centuries long.

"Yeah, yeah Peter that's alright," Remus spoke nonchalantly, but the paleness of his face expressed his true feelings, which reigned true with the rest of the group as well. By no means would this result in a fight amongst the rest, but they certainty wouldn't forget it. Something about Peter favoring Emma over the rest didn't sit well with them; it was a feeling of detachment that was ever present, especially in Sirius. Hermione especially noticed that.

While Peter walked out of the common room to meet Emma, the rest of the group remained out of sorts. Brushing their emotions under the rug was an understatement for how the Gryffindor members acted as they departed for the Quidditch Pitch. Cracking jokes and changing the topic of conversation didn't change the topic of their thoughts. Plagued by this distraction, Hermione was the only one who noticed Peter sneak away up a flight of stairs.

But isn't the Slytherin common room down in the dungeons?

Something was up, Hermione knew it.

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom quickly, I'll catch up with you guys," Hermione said, failing to notice Sirius looking back at her as she walked away, just as he did at the dance last night.

Sneaking away to the same staircase Peter had just climbed up, Hermione tip-toed each step with caution and took a quick look at each remaining floor. Heart racing, her feet could only be so soft as she sprinted through each corridor.

Now at the top floor with no luck, Hermione took a moment to catch her breath as small beads of sweat began to build on her forehead. They would be wondering where she is soon, she needed to hurry.

The pacing of another person's shoes, however, caught her attention. Peering from around the corner, she saw Peter pacing: she had finally found the rat, but in front of the Room of Requirement?

Though she remained confused, Hermione marveled at the magnificent door increasing in size for Peter as he paced the floor. He walked in effortlessly, before the door itself disappeared, Peter with it.

Hermione's brows furrowed until it dawned upon her that the Room of Requirement would be a perfect place to keep anything hidden, the same way it kept Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem hidden during her initiation. All she had to do was think and pace, and Hermione had experience with both of those. However with Peter in the room and each of her friends waiting her arrival, now was not the time. But Hermione was one step closer to her final goal, however small this victory may seem. With a faint smile upon her face, Hermione let out a sweet sigh of relief as she wiped the remaining sweat off of her forehead.

"I'm back, I'm back!" Hermione spat out of breath, having just raced down from Hogwarts' top floor and rather far along the path leading to the Quidditch Pitch.

Sirius' face brightened as he caught sight of Harper catching up to the group with a fairly large Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck. Almost forgetting about Peter ditching the rest, Sirius' face became home to an usual soft smile. The overly-excited shouts from Lily, Alice, and Marlene only partially distracted him from the beautiful girl who slowly made her way next to him.

Wait a minute, she's next to me? Not finding Lily and the other girls, or even Remus?

Sirius felt his cheeks grow hot despite the cool weather of the early November morning, as his typical Harper nervousness rushed to the pit of his stomach. Little did he know, a similar feeling brewed in the mind of the very girl next to him. For Hermione, it was that same moving image of Sirius' fearless eyes meeting her own from breakfast less than a half hour prior that was more than present in her head. Even after spying on Peter, which should have kept her mind at play for more than a while, it remained occupied with Sirius for reasons Hermione was yet to admit.

But now, why is it all of sudden she found herself inching toward him on the walk to the Quidditch Pitch? Waiting behind him in the ticket line? Intentionally sitting next to him in the stands?

It was all very nerve-wracking for her. Hermione was someone who had an analysis for everything, a plan for any situation. She was the one with the answers. But this? It was so terribly difficult for her to interpret. What was her heart trying to tell her head? And, dear Merlin, why couldn't she understand it?

These thoughts bounced around her head almost as fast as the golden snitch darted through the air above the pitch. Lucinda Talkalot, Slytherin's new seeker, showed off her newly-developed skills while Gryffindor's second-year seeker trailed behind. James, however, scored point after point as a chaser, impressing even Lily. He flew past the Gryffindor section with pride after each point scored, and even the most oblivious person could notice James' eyes finding Lily's like clockwork.

Anxiously sitting next to each other, Sirius and Hermione embraced the game, cheering desperately each time James landed the quaffel past Slytherin's keeper. But his moment in the sun, his brief victory, his runner's high—it didn't last forever.

While Lucinda inched closer to the snitch than ever before, James sped through the air, anxiously awaiting for when his teammate would pass him the quaffel. But a moment of disarray led James to be vulnerable; his victory could be stolen. With Lucinda after the snitch on his right and the wooden boundaries to his left, he was trapped.

It only took Lucinda a swift slap on James' broom to send him flying off it it, giving her just the leverage she needed to capture the snitch and secure Slytherin's first win of the season.

"Lucinda Talkalot has grabbed the golden snitch, Slytherin has won the match with a score of 160 to 130!"

As Slytherin members cheered aggressively, frowns fell amongst the Gryffindor section. But, it was only a matter of time before the crowd grew silent and faces grew pale, as Gryffindor's seeker emerged from the edge of the boundaries with a mangled broom and the unconscious body of James Potter.

A/N: thank y'all so much for 620+ views! vote and comment!!

A/N UPDATE (4/4/21): YO i'm sry for hurting james but you'll see why i made this choice, later, i promise. ANYWHO, i'm very glad to be back updating this story again even though this chapter is on the shorter side!! to all those who are back with me and supporting me even tho i straight up stopped being active for half a year, y'all are awesome. big thanks for 172K!! also,  friendly reminder that spring is a very busy season for me, so updates will be sporadic. - callahan.