I Should've Been After You
Summary: Everyone knows that Sirius Black was the ladies' man of Hogwarts in the 70's. What everyone doesn't know, is that he didn't get the ladies on his own. Behind the scenes was his match-maker, an old friend trying to help Sirius find "The One".
Disclaimer: Any and all Harry Potter characters belong solely to JK Rowling, not poor, pitiful me. I simply have manipulated her characters to do my bidding, muahahaa. Oh, and Lia is mine, so hands off!
Author's Note: Here goes round two. I've only written one one-shot so far. I'm going to attempt to make this a real story with a long-lasting plot and such. Any criticism would be appreciated, as long as it isn't purely malicious. I'm a writer, not a robot, and even if I was some robots have feelings. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter One
It's Feeling Like Old Times
All was quiet. Well, almost all. There was the sound of a steadily tapping shoe coming from beneath the table in the corner, and a quill was scratching on a piece of parchment on that table. There was also a quiet, tuneless hum coming from a young woman sitting at the table, writing on the parchment, tapping her foot. These were the only sounds in the entire Gryffindor Common Room.
That is until the portrait swung open, admitting a stomping, irritated-looking, but all the more handsome young man into the room. He stopped just behind the girl sitting at the table and stared down at the top of her glossy black haired head. He cleared his throat impatiently and began tapping his foot loudly, disrupting the beat of her own toes.
The raven haired, dark skinned girl ignored this rude interruption and continued writing. She paused for a moment, tickling her chin with her feather quill before continuing her writing. Another sentence was written and finished with an exclamation point before the quill was laid aside and the serene young woman turned to face her still upset companion.
"What is it, Sirius?" she asked in a calm, inquisitive voice.
Sirius Black's face lit with anger as his frustration exploded within, "You know damn well 'what?' Lia! This one didn't work out either! Why do you keep sending me the same thing, when you know that it is not what I'm looking for?"
Lia's deep blue-grey eyes rose to meet Sirius' stormy grey orbs. A smile pulled at her full lips as she shrugged her bare shoulders and turned back towards the table. As she began to gather her things, Sirius threw his hands into the air and fell backwards, over the arm of the couch. Lia allowed him to lie there for a moment while she set her school bag in order, and then she rose and joined him on the couch. She sat at the far end next to his head, which he lifted. She scooted down and allowed Sirius to rest his head upon her lap while she ran her long and obviously experienced fingers through his dark, shaggy hair.
"Sirius, you know what my thoughts on this subject are. I've told you time and again, that what you are looking for cannot be found through someone else," she paused here as he gave her a familiar glare. "You also know that I'm not trying to get out of our agreement. I know that if anyone is doing this it should be me. But when are you going to start listening to me? Your descriptions before and after always contradict each other. You want something beautiful but deep and meaningful, but fun and exciting or short term but really long term. I cannot find the enigma you are looking for. You have to deal with it."
Lia was glad to see a small grin break onto her old friend's despondent face. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before shoving him off of her lap and consequentially the couch. Sirius screamed at his dislodging, but quickly sprang up from the floor and set to tickling the overly-sensitive Lia for her rude, but heartening actions.
--
"Hey, mate. How'd the date with Carrie Grewel go?" Sirius' bespectacled best friend James Potter inquired cheerfully.
"Terribly, Prongs. The girl would not shut up about everything she'd done to get ready for dinner. I had to let her go," Sirius said with only the slightest hint of remorse.
James frowned at his friend across the breakfast table. He and Remus Lupin, the third member of the Marauders, shared a look and both sighed heavily. Hearing this mournful and slightly aggravated sigh, Sirius tore himself from his mountain of scrambled eggs to look at his friends.
"What? What is it? Hmm? Have you two got something to say? What about you Pete?" Sirius snapped at the fourth boy sitting in their area of the Gryffindor table, Peter Pettigrew. Peter shuddered slightly at his friend's sharp tone and shook his head dejectedly.
Sirius returned his glare to James and Remus, sitting across from him, "So? What do you want to tell me? Hmm?"
"Come on, Padfoot. Don't get so angry with us. We're just worried that's all. You've gotten into the habit of dumping your girls after three or four dates. And it's usually because of a seriously lame reason," the ever pensive Remus gave in to his friend's heated interrogation.
Ignoring Sirius' scoffing laugh, James continued Remus' answer, "Plus, Lia talked to me last night-" Sirius' gaze shot to James at this, "-and she asked me and Remus to say something because she knew that you had once again ignored her advice."
Sirius leaned over the table to shoot a glare at Lia, who was sitting with her dorm mate and best friend Lily Evans. Lia had been waiting for this, having seen James and Remus begin the talk with Sirius. She smiled brightly at him and then began talking animatedly with Lily and Hestia Jones.
Sirius growled quietly and sat back down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing his temples slowly.
"Ok, so maybe I need to rethink the whole dating situation. But come on, don't I get to be at least a little picky? I mean, I'm a Marauder for crying out loud! We're the most wanted guys in the bloody castle and I'm the only one who's seriously dating because James is in love with Evans and Remus, you have your furry little problem, and Peter is so freaking shy! I've dated over forty girls in the past three years and I still haven't found one that could keep my interest longer than a couple of dates."
James, Remus and Peter looked at Sirius hopelessly. They had no answers for him, other than those that Lia had already told him countless times. Sirius sighed, told his friends he'd see them in class and made his way down the table to Lia.
She had of course been expecting him to come down at some point. She watched as a simple smile from Sirius Black sent a group of five girls scooting down the table, twittering as they went. He took the space they had left him next to her and straddled the bench. Hestia kindly greeted Sirius and he returned her hello with a grin. Lily, on the other hand, simply glared at Sirius, gave him a curt nod and mumbled something resembling "Good morning Black" before focusing all of her attention of her cup of orange juice.
Sirius leaned forward, resting his forehead on Lia's shoulder. Lia patted his shaggy head and ignored the familiar glares from around the Great Hall. After 13 years of friendship with the ruggedly handsome boy, she had gotten more than used to being whispered about.
Sirius lifted his head and smiled at his long-time friend, "Want to skive double potions this afternoon?"
Lia studied the mischievous glint in Sirius' stormy eyes and consented without much hesitation.
--
Late September in Scotland brought a lot of changes for the students of Hogwarts. The grounds became a vibrant mix of yellows, oranges, reds, and the rare green, and the wind blew a bit colder every day. It also brought the first fit of homesickness and boredom with classes. This was why Sirius and Lia had opted out of the most boring lesson of all: double potions. Both received fair to excellent marks on their work in that class and so never felt guilty about leaving their friends behind in the dark and dank dungeons.
Being seventh years there was not much for the pair to explore on the grounds, so they settled in their favorite private garden to participate in their favorite pass-time: cloud watching.
"Look! A dragon!"
"Oooo, nice. What about that hippogriff?"
"No, that's a sphinx."
"Oh, right, and I guess that fish is really a unicorn?"
"No! That's ridiculous. That fish looks nothing like a unicorn."
"Oh really?"
"No. It's obviously a kangaroo. Geez, Sirius, use a little imagination."
"Ok, how about that big group over there. Doesn't that look sort of like a big dog, a stag, a rat and a werewolf?"
"No, looks more like a fiery red head cursing a certain glasses-wearing Gryffindor Chaser off of his broom just as he makes the winning goal for the Quidditch Cup."
Sirius sat up and looked down at Lia, who was smiling brightly, fighting her hysterical laughter.
"She wouldn't do that would she?" Sirius asked, suddenly worried.
"Of course not," Lia sat up, her shoulder shaking slightly from her repressed giggles. "She hates Potter, not all of Gryffindor."
"Oh, ok. That's good to know," Sirius replied, completely satisfied by Lia's answer. He laid back and patted the grass, inviting her to do the same. Lia complied willingly and smiled up at the blue autumn sky.
Sirius' deep voice broke the harmonious silence after a few moments, "Lia, we need to talk about our agreement."
Lia sighed deeply and stood up, brushing off her back as she moved to a stone bench under a colorful oak tree. "What about it Sirius? Are you no longer happy with my services?"
"No, I'm sure you're doing the best you can under the circumstances. Actually I was just thinking that maybe we should give it a rest for a while," Sirius explained as he joined her on the bench.
"What? You want to stop? But I thought you were convinced that you had to find 'her' before graduation. That's one year away Sirius," Lia said very quickly.
"Yes, I know Lia. That's why I think we should take a break. I need to clear my head. It probably won't take that long. After all, it's not very full," he smiled and nudged Lia, hoping for a grin. Instead of a grin, he got a slightly-worried-could-grow-to-concerned look.
"Listen, I know it doesn't make sense, but I need you to trust that in this case, I know what's best for me. I know I asked you to decide that as far as which girls I date, but I think I should be allowed to choose when along with how."
Lia nodded slowly and finally shrugged her shoulders, "If you think that's best, I'll put the list on hold for a while. Just promise you'll let me know as soon as you feel ready to start again, ok? After all, I wouldn't want you to try to find the girl of your dreams on your own," she smirked and shoved Sirius a bit.
Sirius smiled his trademark, stood and offered his hand to Lia. She took it and together they walked back up to the castle.
--
They dropped each others' hand at the same moment, just as they entered the Entrance Hall. There was no reason to encourage nasty rumors with friendly hand-holding in public. They walked together into the Great Hall, then to the Gryffindor table, before breaking apart; Lia sitting down with Lily and Hestia, and Sirius heading down to the Marauders' seats.
That evening in the common room, when they were supposed to be working on homework, both Lia and Sirius were contemplating the free time they would have in the future; Lia from match-making for Sirius, and Sirius from being matched. The arrangement had been going non-stop for three years now. Neither knew exactly what they would do without the preoccupation of Sirius' love life hanging over their heads.
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A/N: Ok, there it is. I'm not sure how congealed it is. It sort of just spilled out. I'd love some feedback. Thanks so much for reading.