Puppy Love

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or settings that you recognise and am not making profit of any kind out of this material, this is purely for shits and giggles.

Chapter One

Finding a seat on the Hogwarts Express was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Worse, in fact, it was like trying to find a girl that doesn't fancy Sirius Black. Wait. Did I actually just compare myself to a needle?

Well I certainly didn't feel like a needle as I lugged my ten tonne trunk down the train checking each compartment for somewhere to sit. There was never enough seats on the train, but it was more due to who you didn't want to sit with than where there where actual seats.

The end of the summer had once again arrived and I found myself aboard the Hogwarts Express for the seventh and final year. It was still really warm outside and all the windows were thrown open in preparation for the sheer volume of bodies that would be occupying these tiny carriages for the rest of the day. The thought of large volumes of bodies made me feel a little ill but I pushed the thought away and tried to return to the task at hand; finding a seat.

I passed a carriage filled with the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, all muscles and testosterone and another of first years all looking very scared and not at all sure what they were supposed to be doing. I felt sorry for them; I remembered how scared I had been on my first day. I stuck my head through the next door only to find myself face to face with five Slytherins.

They seemed to turn as one to glare at me and I quickly backed out muttering apologies as a blush crept across my cheeks and started to spread across my face. Why can't I blush like a normal person, you may ask? That is a very good question, one that no one has yet been able to answer for me and being pale to start with does nothing but make it yet more obvious. I could still hear the Slytherins calling abusive things after me half way down the carriage as I marched away from them, quickly as was physically possible while dragging a trunk. I barely glanced in the compartments now for fear of what I would face.

I was just past half way down the train when I came across the thing I had been dreading. The Marauders compartment. The sound of their laughter and was too distinct for it to be anyone elses. Of course it wasn't actually their compartment but they filled more than half of the seats and I hadn't known anyone to try and sit in any of the spare seats unless invited by one of the elite themselves. And in case you were wondering, yes that was sarcasm. I do not consider them elite in any sense of the word. Unnecessary would be more accurate.

I held my breath, hoping they wouldn't hear me pass by but I wasn't in luck. Just as I reached the door it opened revealing two of the stormiest grey eyes ever imagined. I froze, deer in headlights style, before I realised they were staring right through me - maybe holding my breath did work apparently - at something else down the corridor. Or rather someone else.

"My, my, you are looking ravishing this fine morning," His smooth tones washed over my ears and I tried to resist the urge to vomit at his womanising. It was one of those things I had never understood, why do girls find bad boys attractive?

"Why Mr Black, you are looking just as fine," Marlene replied, stepping towards Black and bumping the side of her curvaceous hip into my non-existent one. It snapped me into motion at least and I managed to hurry away before my presence was really noticed.

My encounter had completely distracted me from my task of finding somewhere to sit and so it was I reached the last train carriage more than a little desperate when a boy with a mess of blonde hair stuck his head out of a compartment.

"Ryan!" His face lit up when he saw me.

"Hey Adrian," I breathed a sigh of relief as he came out and grabbed my trunk from me. Adrian was my fellow Ravenclaw along with my best and only friend.

"Sit with us?" he asked more rhetorically as he dragged my trunk into the compartment before I could reply.

"Us?" I said under my breath, cautiously following. When I say Adrian was my only friend I mean only but that didn't mean he didn't have other friends. The carriage was full of Ravenclaws. Why is that a problem you ask? Surely they're my friends too, right? Wrong. When I said Adrian was my only friend I meant it. He's the only person who really spoke to me in first year after, well, after the incident. Most people took my silence as just being rude or thinking of myself too highly to bother replying. Truthfully I'm just painfully shy, all because of that first day at Hogwarts.

But I guess I can't blame that entirely, I had always been shy as a child. I could do things the other kids couldn't and they never like that. They would tease me, make fun, and call me a freak. I knew about magic, my mum being a witch, but I had always worried I would take after my dad and not get a letter to Hogwarts. But I did, and it had been the best day of my life.

I stepped tentatively into the compartment after Adrian as he stowed my trunk away and motioned for me to sit in an empty seat by the window. I ducked my head to allow my hair to tumble across my face, hiding at least part of it from view as I slipped into the seat. Adrian sat beside me as I surveyed the others through the dark brown veil.

Adrian, unlike me, got along well with the other Ravenclaws, mostly because he didn't suffer from crippling social anxiety, and he quickly went back to the heated Quidditch debate the boys had going.

"I still can't believe you actually saw the Chudley Cannons play," Adrian said to Michael who was sitting the other side of him.

"Well the Montrose Magpies are still better," Countered Robert, sitting in the far corner to me.

"No way!" Michael defended; his voice was drowned by all the other boys voicing their opinions of who was the best Quidditch team all at the same time.

I stopped listening and turned my attentions to the two other girls in Ravenclaw, Susan Hall and Karen Moss. They were huddled together opposite me, giggling behind a magazine, a good looking Quidditch player winking out from the cover. I blushed, for Merlin's sake it's just a photo, what is wrong with me.

The girls seemed oblivious to the boy's argument, so wrapped up in gossiping about a boy at school they both fancied. From what I could hear they seemed to be competing for him.

"I told you Karen, he said hello to me on the platform. He must like me," Susan was saying. I felt my interest waning.

"Yea, well he won't be able to resist my charms," Karen said.

"Your charms? If anyone is using their charms it'll be him," Susan replied. I realised they were talking about Black. I shared a dorm with them and all last year they had been devising plans to get him to go out with one of them. I had been so glad for the holiday break from them hoping they would get over it by this year, but it seemed they were yet to give up. Why was it every girl seemed to think they would be the one to change Sirius Black? No one was going to. And these were supposed to be Ravenclaws for Merlin's sake.

The train was getting ready to leave now and the last few students could be seen running past the window, kissing their loved ones good bye and a few first years trying to cling to their mothers as they were shooed on board. I watched the platform slide away and soon the rolling hills of the British countryside were flashing past, rumbling clouds hovered ominously above the train.

Everyone else was wrapped up in their conversations so I pulled a book from my bag and tucked my feet underneath me to get comfortable. I got through a few chapters before the trolley arrived, Adrian and I ordered our lunch of Pumpkin Pasties and Chocolate Frogs and sat together to eat and catch up about our Holidays. I revelled in the nostalgia of our traditional back to school lunch before the realisation that this would be our last hit me.

Adrian and I lived fairly close so we got to see each other in the holidays, this year however my family had been on holiday for the last two weeks so it had been a while since we caught up. I told him all my stories of my traditional Muggle holiday camping by the seaside that my dad, being a Muggle, insisted we go on and Adrian told me about his. He had spent the time fairly evenly between practicing Quidditch and begging his parents to get tickets to an actual game which didn't make much difference from the past few summers.

Huge raindrops were hitting the ground as we finally approached Hogsmede station. The girls were busy trying to both fit under their one umbrella as they squealed about getting their hair wet so I left with Adrian. He grabbed my hand as I jumped down onto the platform and we ran for the nearest carriage up to the castle. I really did pity the poor first years having to take the boats up to school.

As the castle loomed before us I could just about make out the flickering candles lighting each window. People were already streaming into the front doors of the castle, pushing their way past each other just to be the first out of the rain.

Adrian and I just waited our turn, giggling like toddlers as we kicked puddles at each other. That is until I noticed him turn up.

Of course they were the last to arrive, being fashionably late as usual and dripping from head to toe the Marauders headed straight past us for the castle. I held my breath and hoped it would work a second time and they would pass us by. It half worked, Black managed to throw a wink in my direction. His usual boyish grin plastered across his face and looking good even while dripping wet. He was the ultimate playboy of Hogwarts so you could see why he terrified me, the shyest person ever, without even hearing any of the history.

I could feel the blush creeping across my face once again even though I was sure he probably had no idea who I was. Luckily he had gone before he noticed my blushing face.

Adrian was clicking his fingers in my face to snap me back to reality and I realised we were still standing in the rain. It had soaked right through to my underwear now and was getting uncomfortable.

We started for the castle; the entrance hall was mostly cleared of people now as we entered.

"We should probably go get seats," I said hoping there would be space for us somewhere as we lingered by a fireplace that had been magically erected in the great hall to account for the rain.

Luckily there was room for us near the end of the Ravenclaw table and we slipped into our seats just in time for the first years to be lead past us to be sorted.

I had always love the sorting ceremony; after the initial shock in first year of having a hat nearly the size of me thrown over my head and shaking with fear as it muttered in my ear that is. I settled down, Adrian to one side and my hair shielding me from the other and listened to the sorting song, then one by one the tiny first years going up to be sorted. I swear they get smaller each year.

Dumbledore stood as the last first year took their seat at the Hufflepuff table and welcomed us to another school year.

"Welcome back to most of you and it's good to have some new faces among us. I am sure you are all excited to begin another school year but mostly to begin your dinners. So without further ado please enjoy the feast," He clapped his hands and the gold goblets and plates were instantly filled with the most amazing food I had ever tasted. It was good to be back.

A/N: New multi chapter story. If you got this far you know it's a Sirius/OC story and hopefully you have enjoyed it so far. Please let me know what you think and the next chapter will be up shortly. Thanks for reading :)

Azealia xx