Scars and Bruises

Broken Hearts

JAMES.

They all were in the bedroom and waited for Remus to return from the Hospital Wing. However, James was sure that Sirius would rather jump off the Astronomy Tower than meet his friend. James could not believe how they fought each other last night.

Nobody knew why they didn't spoke to each other. And James was sad because they usually did not keep secrets from each other. It must be Alex; there was no other explanation. Since the first day of this school year when Sirius noticed Alex, everything had changed.

He had caught Sirius looking at Alex's dot in Marauders Map way too often. He could not blame him, because James liked to look at Lily's dot too, but it was suspicious that Sirius did the same with Alex.

Alex was nice, she and Remus was friends for a couple of years now and everybody knew that, but apparently, Sirius had not caught that, because they bickered more than usual. And all of these fights was somehow about Alex. James glanced at Sirius, which laid in his bed and pretended to read a book, but actually, he was looking outside the window.

James knew that Sirius really liked Alex not just fancied her, because otherwise he wouldn't act so childish. He always knew that there would be a time when Sirius would like someone a lot, but James did not thought it would happen while they were in school, he would have bet it would happen after graduating.

James realized that Sirius really liked Alex when they were in Hogsmeade, when he saw how carefully Sirius picked her up from the ground and carried her all the way to the Hospital Wing. James had never seen his friend so worried and then he saw the relief on Sirius's face when Madame Pomfrey told that Alex would be all right. Everything just confirmed James's suspicions about Sirius's feelings.

Door opened and Remus walked in limping, he looked like shit, James couldn't remember the last time he saw Remus like that. Remus glared at Sirius and laid back in his bed. James exhaled; he knew that this could not continue like that.

"Moony, Padfoot, what the hell is happening between you two?" James finally spoke when he realized that they would probably spend all evening in silence.

"I really want to know the answer to that question too," Sirius growled without taking his eyes off Remus.

"That's enough," James said strictly. "Please let's just talk everything out civilized; there is no need to act like children."

"But..." Sirius tried to object, but James interrupted him.

"Enough! You have an intellect to act your age, why are you not doing it?"

There was a silence; James looked at his friends. After a while, he was relieved to conclude that they were going to talk.

"I assume that all this, whatever this is," James motioned between Remus and Sirius, "is somehow connected with Alex." James knew he was right, Sirius and Remus just nodded.

"They both like Alex," Peter squeaked, he hadn't muttered a word all evening.

"Exactly," Sirius said simply, but his answer was clouded by Remus's, "No."

Everybody looked at Remus. He looked like he was not ready for this conversation, but James didn't regret starting it.

"What happened between you two?" James demanded because he realized that he had no clue what was going on between two of his best friends.

"Yesterday I saw them both by the lake, Alex was upset, she cried, and then they both were embracing and went back to the castle," Sirius announced sadly. "Looked like they were together."

Remus frowned; James didn't know if it was due to pain or due to Sirius words. Sirius looked terrible. James could not believe that Remus tried to steal Alex from under Sirius's nose. They weren't like that, he knew that way too well.