Slughorn's lecture seemed to drag on forever in the humid heat of the June afternoon. It was the last week before finals, and it was apparent that most students had already mentally checked out by the look of things. Idle chatter drowned out any sound of quills scratching against parchment, although the professor didn't seem to notice or mind as he droned on mostly to himself. Their minds were elsewhere. Even in the cool dungeon, the air was heavy and damp and enough to make one's hairs stick to the sweat on their forehead.

Sirius Black nudged the girl sat beside him. She turned to face him and smiled, face as pale as the moon surrounded by straight black hair that defied humidity. "Oi, Mei… are you coming to the party tonight?"

She glimpsed at the group through a curtain of thick eyelashes and confirmed everyone was now looking at her. At the long table sat Sirius and his mates (affectionately known as the Marauders), along with the slight framed girl called Meihua Xu and her own mates from Hufflepuff, Lucinda Carew and Tate Padmoore. The girl simply rolled her eyes and tugged on a lock of her hair that strayed into her vision. Sirius and her had started dating at the beginning of the year, which came as little surprise to the entire school. They were a natural match.

"Well, I am supposed to have prefect duties - so no, I probably won't make it."

Sirius leaned close into her and gave a soft chuckle in her ear that made the hairs on her neck stand upright. "Remmie mentioned something about that, but.. I thought you could make an exception seeing as how this is to celebrate my recent quidditch victory, yeah?"

"Oh, you mean the Gryffindor victory…" Lucinda muttered. Despite her wispy yellow curls and golden complexion, she had a tendency to be dark and sarcastic. Some people may have wondered how someone seemingly so lurid could have been sorted into Hufflepuff. Sirius would not have been surprised if this was a mistake on the Sorting Hat's part if she was meant to be in Slytherin.

Lucinda's comment wasn't intended as a joke, yet it still inspired laughter from some of the others, including Remus who was seen shaking his head at his best friend. "He's got a bad habit of whispering quite loudly, doesn't he?"

"Doesn't know how to shut his gob, more like."

At this their friend, Peter, too, laughed as he did at everything - or at least whenever his mates were seen laughing. Meihua decided to turn her nose back to the front of the class, thinking that the bloke was a bit of a question mark in her mind. He didn't say much and didn't seem the type to hang with Sirius's lot. He did like to stare though, often enough she caught him looking in her direction when he thought she must not have been paying attention.

She caught, from the corner of her eye, an impish grin on Sirius's face that suggested they would revisit the conversation again before that night.

"It's not the worst I've endured by far," Tate said, a slight framed boy with thick chocolate curls that framed his sharp features. A tad effeminate, he fit right in the girls Hufflepuff clique like a puzzle piece.

Meihua scoffed at her friend and returned to pretending to pay attention to the lecture while Sirius and James went through another animated rundown of the winning match, total gibberish to her. Potions was a subject that she actually enjoyed, no thanks to the lackluster professor. She reveled in the practical aspect of the course, but she wasn't particularly skilled in note taking, listening to lectures, or…

"That reminds me," Meihua spoke across the table to Remus. "Do you think I could borrow your notes?"

Remus, probably the only one at the table who was diligently note taking, looked up from his parchment to lock eyes with her. He arched a brow and gave a winsome smile that made her feel somewhat faint.

"Shall I hand them over now or wait until later tonight?"

"No, no." The little witch smiled, waving her hand dismissively. "Take your time now."

"He's a right good bloke, isn't he?" James playfully grabbed Remus's shoulder beside him. James himself began to jot down an indecipherable version of Remus's neat script. "I swear, if it weren't for him, I'd-"

"Excuse me, Miss Xu. Is there something you'd like to share with the class that would warrant such an interruption?" Slughorn asked, his sudden break from his lecture causing everyone to fall silent.

All eyes suddenly fell on Meihua who sat in the very back of the classroom. It was typical the professor would single her out even though practically no one was paying attention. She probably had the lowest essay scores and attendance of anyone in the class.

"Well, I…" Her cheeks grew quite hot. The distant bells of the Clock Tower rang, signalling the end of the period. Sirius sniggered as she started putting her books away in her bag as if feigning ignorance. With her back to the professor, she pulled a sour face at James.

"Oh, dear… 10 points from Hufflepuff. I hate to do this, perhaps this will teach to make a proper example as prefect," Slughorn drawled.

It took a lot of willpower for her to not roll her eyes then. It was anyone's guess as to why Meihua made prefect as her overall school performance was honestly rubbish. She may have been popular amongst her peers, but she was not a star pupil. She felt Sirius pull on the sleeve of her robes before he leaned in to whisper. "Meet me outside the broom closet at the end of the corridor in five, love."

Sirius winked at her before taking off with his mates. She watched as the group walked off together, waving to Remus after he stole a backwards glance in her direction. Perhaps the heavy, damp air was driving her mad, but she needed to see Sirius straight away.

"Incorrigible," Lucinda commented dryly. She stood at the end of the table with her bag already slung over her shoulder, waiting for her dazed friend. Lucinda had a voice so soft and demure it would have been impossible to tell her annoyance if you didn't know her.

"Huh?" Meihua turned to her friend, unsure for a moment if the blonde didn't mean Sirius. Lucinda's blank expression offered little indication either way. Meihua was left to job after them leaving the classroom in an effort to keep up.

"I just don't know how you stand him…" Lucinda whined. "Sirius and his mates can be completely… nauseating at times."

"That's good, isn't it?" Tate chimed in. "That sholder mean they're perfect for each other."

"They're really not so bad once you get to know them…" Meihua attempted a lame defense. "It can't be nearly as bad as you little fling with little prissy Barty Crouch Jr."

Lucinda glared at Tate when he snorted at that comment. "Well, what do you know - we all make mistakes."

"I'll say it again, you really ought to give him a proper change," Meihua insisted, though she knew perfectly well the reason for her friend's aversion to the boys. "At any rate, you're not the one dating him…"

If her friends were expecting a quick-witted rebuttal, they would have only been met with uncomfortable silence.

"Well, come on, then. We have Divination next!" Tate, now in a much better mood that it was time for their favourite class, gestured to the pair to get a move on. "It's not such a short walk to the North Tower."

"Right…" Meihua leaned back forth on the balls of her feet with a sly smirk dancing upon her lips. "I actually do have something to take care of quickly-"

"Oh, just go," Lucinda snapped.

Tate simply shrugged. "Do be quick, love. I can't cover for you all the ruddy days of the week."

Meihua broke into an impossibly wide grin, turning on her heel and leaving her friends in a sprint. Her large stride was brought to a halt steps before the dead end of the corridor where she saw Sirius engaged in conversation with Mary Macdonald. She managed to maintain a calm exterior despite the sudden squeamish feeling she got in the pit of her stomach. Seeing the blonde Gryffindor throw her head back in laughter evoked a potent reaction in her.

"Sirius?" She tried her best to smile sincerely and appear friendly as she wedged her way between the pair. "Could I have a word?"

"Ah, I was just off to my next class anyways," Mary managed after she stifled her laughter. "I'll be out of your hair now. Ta!"

"Well, don't ask me how I'm doing, you…" Meihua muttered darkly as she watched the other witch fade out of her view after joining a gaggle of Gryffindor girls.

"Now, now…" Sirius soothed as he pecked her cheek, leaning down in order to reach the petite girl. "Is my little Mei looking a tad green?"

"Do I have reason?" Meihua pouted. Her full lips were decorated in an opaque rose gloss which enticed Sirius. He smirked. Quickly, as to not arouse suspicion, he forcefully grabbed her shoulders and shoved the both of them into the inconspicuous hole in the wall.

With the door closed, there was no light in the cramped broom closet. Meihua couldn't see Sirius's face, but she could feel his rough, calloused hands between her thighs in the bare space between her stocking and her underwear and his hot breath on her neck. He nipped once and she muffled a yelp, grabbing the back of his hair in retaliation. The coarse stubble on his chin irritated to soft, sensitive skin of her neck. He instinctively placed a gentle kiss on the same spot before his knee found its way between the apex of her thighs. She let out a groan in his shoulder before she could stop herself, which only encouraged him to begin grinding against the hot mound. It was always like this when they found themselves alone together, usually sneaking around in empty corridors or classrooms at night.

Sirius and I are a lot alike…

Sirius reached his hand beneath her shirt and grasped at her breasts over the thin lace of her brassiere. She gasped and leaned further into his solid frame. His body was warm, soft, and it satisfied her. In the darkness, she didn't have to close her eyes to imagine the truest desires of her heart.

We both have things the other needs, so we can always be there to comfort each other...

It wasn't long before Meihua forgot all about the Macdonald girl, or why she ever felt envious in the first place. After all, Sirius didn't belong to her, really. They were only substitutes for each other, until perhaps something better came along.

"Sirius?"

The pair were seated on the floor in an abandoned part of the school library, uncharacteristically surrounded by books. Neither of them were particularly the bookish type, so Meihua hadn't expected to actually be studying when he had asked her earlier that day.

She pursed her lips at the lack of response. Sirius was sloppily scribbling on a piece of parchment, anxious for the test he had the following day.

"We aren't really going to study… I'm so bored." Meihua crawled on her hands and knees on the carpet around him so that she could peak over his shoulders at his work, draping an arm around his neck.

"I can feel your breasts against my back, you know," he stated as if it was ordinary conversation.

Meihua said nothing in response. He put his quill down shortly after and in one swift movement, pushed his books aside and pinned the girl down with her wrists above her head. Sh saw his eyes inches apart from her own, cloudy and grey. She knew she had entered dangerous territory. Slowly he lowered his head, painfully slow as if to give her a chance to shove him off, until their lips finally met. She let her eyes flutter shut, tilting her head upwards into the awkward kiss. She could feel his resistance.

"It's okay," she whispered against his dry lips. "Just close your eyes and pretend I'm her."

He pulled away slightly, and for a moment she feared his reaction. Without another word, he kissed her again, this time deeper and more desperately. Meihua ran her tongue against his bottom lip and his movements soon became faster and more fluid. He loosened his grip on her wrists and allowed his hand to graze the silky skin of her arms down to her breasts, then her sides. And soon working their way back up again.

It wasn't long before her hands were gripping his back, and his tongue had entered her mouth to explore and tease her. When she involuntarily panted and moaned in his mouth, he brought a hand against her lips to silence her and moved onto her neck. Biting and sucking with an intensity that made her squirm underneath him.

Neither of them said another another, even long after they had smoothed out the wrinkles in their uniforms and headed out of the library together as though nothing had happened.

A/N:

A little information for the people who follow this story… I had decided to start over again, because there were numerous mistakes in the text and I wasn't happy with the first person point of view I had originally written it in. I'm more or less taking this story in a similar direction, although there will be some significant changes in the text. I hope that those who might like and follow this story will be patient and bear with me as I continue publishing this story in a way that I can be happy with.

As always, I would love to see a review to hear your thoughts and I always appreciate it any form of support or criticism.