Written for the Tim Burton comp over at HPFC :D my quote was "With this ring, I ask you to be mine," from one of my favourite movies, 'The Corpse Bride.'

"It is the pear, right? That you tickle?"

Sandra had tried many times during their journey to the kitchens to engage Sirius in conversation, but each time she was only graced with a single word answer. This time proved to be only a grunt. She sighed, knowing very well that you tickle the pear. Sneaking a glance at Sirius as she pulled what was now a door wide open, she noted that he still looked as sullen as when they had left the common room, and there was a bruise forming on his cheekbone where Remus had punched him.

"Miss Hopkins, Master Black!"

Sandra turned back to face the kitchens to spot an enthusiastic house elf running towards them, bare feet slapping against the cold tiles covering the floor.

"Hello, Tinky," Sandra giggled.

Tinky wrapped her skinny arms around Sandra's knees, looking up at her with wide eyes and a wider grin. She moved to do the same to Sirius but Sandra shook her head slightly, and Tinky thankfully took the hint.

"Are you hungry, Miss Hopkins?"

"Yes, starving! Sirius and I missed Breakfast, so-"

Before she could answer there was a squeak of glee from Tinky and she sped off, saying something about a Brunch feast.

Turning to Sirius, the smile left her face. Sandra sighed and took a step closer to him, resting a hand gently on his shoulder, but he shook it off and glared at her. She glared right back.

"Do you want to talk to me before or after we eat?"

"Neither," he grumbled.

"That wasn't one of the options, Sirius."

He folded his arms across his chest tightly, and for a second Sandra thought he was going to stamp his foot and throw a temper tantrum.

"You're being a little childish," she pointed out, trying hard to keep from smiling slightly. He glared at her again.

"I really don't want to talk about it."

"You're going to have to, sooner or later," she pointed out diplomatically. "If not to me, then I'll ask Dumbledore to talk to you. Or someone worse..." she paused for a second, thinking. "Your brother, maybe?"

"I'm not going to talk about this, Sandra."

Groaning in frustration, she threw her hands in the air.

"Fine! Fine, I won't make you talk."

He actually looked at her without glaring at her this time, and Sandra saw that as a triumph.

"Thank you," he murmured, looking away again.

"You're bloody welcome," Sandra grumbled.

Stalking away from him, Sandra conjured a table and two chairs, and plopped herself down on the comfier of the two, gesturing for Sirius to join her. He sat opposite her, and looked her questioningly in the eyes.

"I lied," she said suddenly. "I really think you should just talk this through with me."

"Oh for Merlins sake, Sandra!" he cried, standing right back up. "Why won't you get the message? Talking isn't going to help this situation!"

For a second neither of them spoke, Sirius glaring at her and Sandra looking frustratedly back at him. Then, without warning, Sirius turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"No, no, no, wait!" Sandra cried, shoving her chair back and running after him. She grabbed him by the arm and spun him to face her. Slightly surprised that he'd actually let her, she paused, took a deep breath and began to blurt.

"I only want to talk because I'm worried about you, Sirius. We all are, even- no, especially- Remus. I don't know what the hell happened at your bloody home over the holidays but it's the second week back and no one likes this new mood you've discovered." Voice growing soft, she continued. "I don't know why you're acting like this, but it's really not cool, dude."

He just looked at her, showing no emotion what-so-ever. Sandra took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Frankly, Sirius, it scares the shit out of me. Sometimes I-I'm honestly not sure if you're going to hurt me."

He seemed to deflate at that, and a bubble of panic welled in Sandra's chest as she saw his eyes begin to water. He couldn't cry, he just couldn't. Sirius Black did not cry. Before she had any time to dwell on it though, she was enveloped in a tight embrace, Sirius' arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

"I would never hurt you, Sandra. Never." He didn't sound like he was crying...

"I should bloody well hope not," she said somewhat gruffly.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Sandra hugged him back, resisting the urge to stroke his hair.

It was a full minute before Sirius pulled away, and thankfully he wasn't frowning anymore, or crying. He wasn't smiling either, but it was a start.

"So!" Sandra said cheerily, trying to uplift the mood. "We are going to make a deal."

"We are?" Sirius asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Yes. And that deal is this: I promise not to force you into talking about it until you want to, and in return, you make an effort to be happier. Like, no more moping. Or at least try and make a few jokes now and then."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Sirius nodded.

"Fine, it's a deal." He glanced behind her, and Sandra took the time to calm herself. "Now let's eat."

Looking behind her to where Sirius' eyes rested, Sandra saw that while they'd been fighting (and hugging) the little table she'd conjured had been filled with food.

"Oh thank god," she moaned. "I'm going to pass out if I don't eat soon!" to illustrate her point, Sandra's stomach rumbled threateningly. Sirius smiled.

They sat at the table, and nothing was said for a good few minutes while they stuffed their faces, Sirius with bacon and eggs, Sandra with bagels.

"Oh my god these are delicious," Sandra groaned as she took a bite out of a sesame seed one. "And look! Tinky brought us mini bagels!"

To her delight, Sirius laughed. It looked like he was taking their deal seriously after all.

"They're so little!" he cooed.

"I know, aren't they adorable?"

Again, he chuckled. They shared a brief smile, then Sirius turned his attention back to his plate and continued shovelling food into his mouth. Sandra, on the other hand, had eaten her fill and stood, shoving her chair back noisily. Tinky heard and came rushing, sparing Sirius a nervous glance before beaming up at Sandra.

"Is there anything else Tinky can do for Miss Hopkins? Did Miss Hopkins enjoy her late Breakfast?"

"Please, Tinky, my name's Sandra. And it was wonderful, thank you so much."

Tinky gave a little skip of joy and bustled off back to the counter where she and the other house elves were fixing Lunch for the school.

Yawning, Sandra paced back to the table and away a few times. Pausing briefly, she swung her arms high above her head and stretched, giving a little moan.

"Fuuuck, I'm tired," she groaned.

She felt her shirt ride up slightly, exposing her midriff, and quickly put her arms down to her sides again. Glancing over at Sirius, she noted that he was looking at her stomach with an appreciative little smirk on his face, and Sandra rolled her eyes.

"Stop staring," she muttered, and he looked down, shamefaced.

"Sorry," he said innocently.

"Liar," Sandra shot back.

Sirius grinned at her cheekily. After a second he set his fork down on his plate with a clink and leant back, stretching his arms above him as she'd just done. The effect was not dissimilar, and Sandra was left staring at the panel of muscled stomach he'd revealed. Clearing her throat, Sandra looked away before she felt the flutter in her chest she'd come to associate with a half-naked Sirius. She could only imagine where the flutter would be if he was fully naked...

Standing up to join her, Sirius picked up a mini bagel from her plate and peered at it curiously before slipping it on his finger, effectively destroying her moment of daydreaming.

"Hah! It fits!" he cried, eyes lighting up.

Before she could stop herself, Sandra burst into laughter, clutching her stomach with one hand and covering her face with the other. For some reason, the image of Sirius strutting round with a bagel on his finger was just completely hysterical to her, and she took a step backwards, sitting down against the wall before she fell over.

Well, she was definitely not thinking about him naked anymore.

Sirius walked over to her and kicked her lightly, but her response was just to laugh harder. Sandra pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her head in her knees, trying (and failing) to smother her mirth, and Sirius sighed, sliding down the wall next to her.

"I have to say, it works as a ring," he said, putting his hand in front of him to admire it. "It would be great for a wedding, don't you reckon?"

Sandra was by then struggling to breathe.

"Imagine the proposal, though... 'Darling, will you bagel me?'"

Her body was not cooperating, and she began to fall to the side, collapsing into complete, hysterical laughter.

"Merlin, the vows... I can see it now. 'To bite and to chew, for sweeter or for savoury...'"

Her legs began to twitch slightly.

"'With this ring, I ask you to be mine,'" Sirius proclaimed regally. "Oh my sweet pastry, I do!" He added in a falsetto.

It was physically impossible for her to laugh any harder.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may eat the bagel." His words were infused with a serious tone, and Sandra briefly wondered how the hell he could keep a straight face, 'cause she sure as hell couldn't.

O~O~O~O

It took Sandra a full twenty minutes to calm down.

By then, Sirius was completely out of his foul mood, and was smiling and giggling with her like usual. They still sat against the wall, and Sandra had pushed herself up and leant on Sirius for support. She would still let out a giggle now and then, but it would be controllable. She wasn't hysterical anymore, thank Merlin.

"Seriously," she muttered thoughtfully, ignoring his grin at the word, "I think that if I ever get married, I'm going to have a bagel wedding ring."

Sirius laughed heartily, wrapping an arm around her firmly. Gravity certainly wasn't her friend that day, and him pulling her just that much closer was enough to make her topple over, falling awkwardly into his lap. Letting out a squeak to rival Tinkys', Sandra tried desperately to pull herself up, but Sirius' laughter was making his whole body shake, and it was proving difficult.

"Fuck it," she growled, blushing slightly, "I'm just gonna stay here." To prove her point, She flopped across him, wriggling down so her head rested in his lap.

Sirius rubbed her arm sympathetically, still laughing.

"You do that Dee, I don't mind."

Sandra peered up at him, trying to decide if he was being dirty minded or actually nice. He looked sincere, so she made herself comfy.

"Y'know," she said when nothing had been said for a few moments, "I quite like you, Sirius."

"Er, where is this going, Dee?" He sounded wary, and she opened her eyes, looking up at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"You're lying in my lap, very close to my..." he cleared his throat and continued, "and you just said you like me. I'm a guy, what am I meant to think?"

Looking outraged, Sandra gave him a little slap on the thigh and struggled to sit up again. Somehow, she managed it, and ended up sitting cross-legged in front of him. Until he'd spoken, she hadn't even considered her proximity to his, er...

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Black," she said indignantly, cutting off her train of thought. "Me liking has nothing to do with me wanting to shag you."

His eyes widened and Sandra realised what she'd said.

"Nononono-"

"So you do want to shag me!" He was grinning wildly, and he propped his hands behind his head looking very pleased with himself.

"No! Ok, maybe, but so what if I do?!" Sandra said, throwing her own hands in the air. "I'm sure most of the school wants to shag you!"

"Oh, so you admit it freely, now, do you?" His smirk only grew wider.

"... Shut up, Black," she muttered, looking away in shame.

"Aw, come on Dee!"

She felt his hand reaching out for her, and she slapped it away in annoyance.

"Come and sit back on my lap, Dee. You know you want to," he added teasingly.

Looking at him, she raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

"Yeah, that was bad, sorry," he muttered, ruffling his hair. "Seriously though, this changes nothing. I promise I won't try and shag you."

"Promise?" Sandra said dryly.

"Cross my heart," he said genuinely.

Sandra considered him for a second before sighing and shuffling closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her again, and pulled her into a hug, which it seemed was all they were doing that day... Arguing and hugging. Letting loose another sigh, Sandra rested her head on Sirius' shoulder, her nose almost touching his neck. She could see a few freckles from her view, and she snuggled her head closer until they were too blurred to focus on.

Sirius' hand was tucked around her waist, and Sandra could feel it inching lower, coming to rest on the swell of her hip, then her backside. Frowning, Sandra considered berating him and leaving, but part of her wouldn't let her. For a few seconds she had an internal debate over whether or not she should just go ahead and kiss him.

On one hand, she really, really wanted to. It would be fun, and everyone said he was a great kisser. It may even spark a relationship between them, which definitely appealed to Sandra. On the other hand, it may ruin their epic friendship, and it would just be awkward. The decision was a difficult one, and Sandra still had a frown on her face when Sirius made up her mind for her.

He seemed to have been having the same argument in his head, because he muttered a quick 'oh, fuck it,' and tilted her head up, planting a kiss right on her lips.

She kissed back wholeheartedly, bringing a hand up behind him to tangle in his hair and placing the other on his chest. His hands were just as busy, quickly finding their way into her jeans and cupping her backside firmly.

Letting her body take over, Sandra clambered atop Sirius, moving her hands down to the top of his pants and undoing the top button.

Sirius groaned, and abruptly Sandra stood up with a little scream, backing away slowly.

"What the hell am I doing?" she asked herself shrilly.

"Er-"

"Shut up, Sirius! Why would you let me do that! You promised not to try and shag me!"

"I just-"

"Argh! I'm so stupid!" She cried, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry, Dee. I shouldn't have kissed you. Come and sit down and we can talk this through."

"Seriously?" she asked, staring at him incredulously. "Now you don't mind talking to me?"

"Oh, right. No talking, then?" he paused, looking up at her endearingly.

"Nuh-uh. You wouldn't talk to me, so I'm not talking to you."

"Come on," he whined, holding his hand out to her. She paused, eyes flicking indecisively between him and his hand. "Please?" he murmured.

Her heart broke at the pathetic look on his face, and she sighed, folding her arms across her chest unsurely.

"Bagel?" he asked, holding up the blueberry mini bagel from earlier and slipping it on his index finger.

That sealed the deal, really. She sighed again, loudly, and sat down next to him, this time at a safe distance.

"Only for the bagel, Sirius. Only for the bagel."

I'm not sure if I'm happy with this... I always seem to ramble when I'm writing anything longer than 1500 words... But I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! Drop me a review to let me know what you thought, I don't bite :3