Disclaimer: I own my characters and this story but everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

"—the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." –Sirius Black

Her eyes weren't ready for full light yet and she was grateful for the shadows as she near ran through the dimly lit corridors of the castle towards the dungeons. There was no release…just all-consuming pain. Pain that felt somehow like an old friend. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was so used to being unhappy that misery had become comforting.

She was almost to the dungeons when she heard his footsteps grow louder. Heart pounding in her chest she made to walk faster but was stopped in her tracks when without warning Sirius Black grabbed hold of her right arm and spun her around, forcing her to face him. His grip tightened like a vice as he took control of the other arm and held her in place.

Shaking with fury his dark eyes bore into hers, "Why?"

She didn't answer, but only turned her eyes away and remained silent.

"TELL ME WHY' the anger in his voice now rising he shoved her up against the wall and she gave a yelp of pain, 'DID IT FEEL GOOD?! TELL ME THAT AT LEAST, DID IT FEEL GOOD WHEN YOU LET HIM TOUCH YOU?!"

Voice no longer caught in her throat she met his fury with her own, "HE WOULD'VE KILLED ME SIRIUS."

Her breathing became shallower as she struggled to remove herself from his grip but to no avail, '…this was always my only choice…my mistake to ever let you convince me otherwise..."

He loosened his grip and she angrily shoved him away but as she did so he grabbed hold of her wrist, stopping her from leaving. Gently this time he gripped her other arm and brought her towards him, careful not to aggravate the dark mark he knew had just been placed there the night before. She winced at his sudden proximity though she could tell the fury from before had all but disappeared. Sirius, unlike herself, always had the ability to go from furious to calm and back again in record time.

Closing the space between them he gently ran his fingers through her hair, tilting her head up ever so slightly so that she was now forced to look directly at him, her eyes still full of anger as strands of his black hair brushed lightly against her forehead. Disgusted with herself she relaxed against his touch as he felt her resistance crack, 'Sirius stop…"

In a sudden effort to gain back the control she could feel slipping through her fingers she became rigid and cleared her face of all emotion, so angry with herself that she ever let it get this far. She stared at him with an intensity that sent chills down his spine and for a split second he saw the Mira he remembered, the Mira he had loathed for so long.

"Stop." She spoke the words almost threateningly.

His eyes narrowed and anger flooded back into his system once more. He couldn't stand the almost masochistic way she operated. He could feel his temper slipping out of his control again as his mind filled with thoughts of the past year and he stepped back from her, watching the pained expression in her eyes as he did so. This however only served to infuriate him more.

He made as if to attack her but instead he slammed his own fist against the stone wall, feeling the skin break, reveling in the temporary release it gave him and stormed off.

She had derailed his stability long enough. If she wanted to be alone, she would be.