Bree stairs at me in shock, "I'm sorry, what?"

"His name... It's Sirius Black. Do you know him?" I reply slowly.

"Do I... know him? Everyone knows him! He's the most popular guy in school, apart from James and Remus! Holly Hell! Are you telling me that you are secret pen pals with Sirius FUCKING Black and he's sent you all of his secret feelings and desires for the last four years?!"

"Um... Yes?" I stammer, not sure what the big deal is. So, he's popular, okay, I kind of expected that from what he said in his letters.

"Bloody hell! I can't believe this. And you're just telling me this now?! Shit Ari, you don't just sit on information like that!" Great she's scolding me now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be such a big deal. So, tell me, is he as sweet and romantic in real life? And handsome, I bet he's handsome, isn't he?"

"Well he's only the hottest guy in school! And doesn't he know it! But sweet and romantic? Are you sure we are talking about the same Sirius Black here?"

"Why? Is there more than one? It doesn't seem like that common of a name."

"No, I suppose not. It's just, the Sirius I know isn't anything like you describe..." Bree starts, almost as if there is something she is dreading telling me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, worried now.

"It's just... he's kind of a player. You know, with the girls. Mostly the floozies, but he does get around. And he's cocky. He gets really high marks in classes, but he's almost always goofing off. He and his friends James, Remus, and Peter, or the Marauders as they are known as around school, they play a lot of pranks. Mostly on the Slytherins, and they are usually really funny, but it lands him in detention quite a bit."

"I... I don't believe this. No, this must be a misunderstanding. He told me he and his friends sometimes pulled pranks as revenge, on bullies, for the people who wouldn't defend themselves... It seemed noble. And a player? No, he can't be. He's always talking about the girls who try to use him and break his heart. About how he longs to find someone who wants him just for him. Someone who will love him and not aim to break him, or use him for one means or another," I stammer out in defense of a boy I obviously don't know at all.

"Noble? Ha! The Marauders don't need a reason to pull a prank. But the Slytherins are nearly always asking for it. Rude little pricks, the lot of them. As for the girls, they line up for him, and he sure doesn't let them down! They all know what's coming, but they always seem surprised and heartbroken when it ends. The longest relationship I've seen him in only lasted 2 weeks I think, and that was with Savanna Taylor. Ravenclaw, our year, dyed blond and busty. She's a real piece of work. Meanest mean girl in school," Bree said. "But if you really want to know what he's like... Well I guess I should tell you that he's staying at James' house this summer. You know, James Potter, my next-door neighbor."

"What?! He's here? Right down the road? And you're just mentioning this now?!" I jump up, ready to run down the road to meet him. But suddenly I'm not so sure I want to. What if he's exactly like Bree said? No, he can't be. I muster up my courage, offer my hand to help Bree up and say, "Let's go."

"You're sure about this?"

"Absolutely," My confidence is rising by the second.

"Well then you might consider changing your clothes," she points down to the paint stained jeans I'm wearing and the ratty, baggy, band t shirt.

"Yeah, probably a good idea," I agree as I head over to my closet. I head for my section of the closet, as opposed to what I call my mother's section. She went shopping and bought me all sorts of frilly, trendy, girly clothes. I've vowed to never touch them. Just as I'm about to grab my favorite dark blue tight jeans and black Led Zeppelin t shirt, Bree shrieks at me.

"Eek! You're not really thinking about wearing that to go meet Sirius Black, are you?"

"Um, yes. Is there a problem with that? "I ask, slightly hurt.

"You can't go to meet the hottest guy in school, the guy you've waited for four years to meet, wearing jeans and a band t shirt." She crosses my closet into my mother's section.

"Oh no, don't even think about it. I'm not getting all frilly for a guy." I say quickly.

Bree is all but drooling over the many different colors of pleated miniskirts, colorful sweaters, and crop tops my mother purchased. "OH, come on! At least try one of these crop tops! They are darling!"

"Oh, HELL no! Not in this lifetime," I counter.

"Okay, how about this one? It's plain purple, no flowers, but it's also tighter than your band shirts so it will show off your figure," Bree just isn't backing down.

"Okay fine. But try and get me into one of those skirts and I'll kick your ass," I say, finally giving in. I take the shirt from her and go to the bathroom to get changed. When I look in the mirror I cry out "Oh for Pete's sake!" which causes Bree to burst into the bathroom, one hand out turning me toward her, and the other hand behind her back.

"Oh my! Look you do have a figure! And such a cute one too!" She teases me.

"I do not. I look like a popsicle stick,' I groan. Just noticing that Bree has something on a hanger behind her back. "Oh no you don't! I'm not wearing a skirt!"

"Calm down, it isn't a skirt." She brings the garment forward to reveal a pair of high-waisted jean short shorts.

"No way! Those are way too short!" I say, eyeing the shorts with disgust.

"They are not! They will be perfect! Plus, it's rather hot outside," she says trying to play to my practical side. But I won't be convinced, and I stand my ground.

"Not going to happen. I'm perfectly fine in my pants."

"Fine then. But at least tuck the shirt in, it looks silly that way."

I comply and tuck my shirt in. I walk back to my room and grab my black converse from the floor at the bottom of my bed. Bree opens her mouth to protest but I cut her off saying "Don't you say a word about my converse."

She closes her mouth and sticks out her bottom lip in a mock pout. I run my fingers through my hair one last time before looking at her and saying, "Let's go."

Before I know it, we are down the stairs, I've given my mother a lame excuse about going for a walk, and we are out the door. We get halfway to Bree's house when a thought occurs to me... The two extremely good-looking guys next to Bree's house that I saw on my first day here. That must be Sirius and James. I stop dead in my tracks.

"Bree... You said James Potter is your neighbor, right?" I ask nervously.

"Yes... Why?" she asks.

"Oh God, so the two guys I saw in the front yard the day I met you..."

"James and Sirius. James is the one with glasses," she explains, which confirms my fears. Sirius is definitely too good looking for me.

"Oh no... I'm going to pass out! I figured he'd be handsome, you know in a 'I sit outside coffee shops and write poetry' kind of way! Not a 'I'm a gorgeous male model' kind of way!" Now I'm freaking out. I'm not sure I can go through with this after all.

"Calm down Ari! They are nothing more than silly boys. True they are smart, charming, and insanely good looking, but they are silly boys all the same," Bree says while she pats my shoulder trying to calm me down. "Now take a deep breath and let's keep going. We have come too far to go back now."

"Okay, okay," I breath. I can do this. I've known him for four years, it doesn't matter what he looks like. I stand up straight, put my shoulders back and walk on.

I try to be brave, but as we grow closer to the Potter house, I can feel the knot in my stomach growing. Sooner than I would have liked, we are close enough for me to see the house. As we draw closer still I can see that there is a figure in the front yard. From what I can make out, it must be one of the boys. I see the sun glint off of his face, glasses I determine. It's James. As we approach the yard, I slow down slightly allowing Bree to walk ahead of me.

"Hello there, James!" Bree says in greeting.

"Well hay Bree. I didn't see you come up. What's going on? Who's your friend?" James says.

"That's kind of why we are here. Is Sirius around?"

"Yeah, he'll be right out. Is something wrong? OH no! Is she pregnant?" James exclaims.

"What?!" Bree and I say together. "NO! Of course not!" I finish.

"Okay, just making sure. Don't have a heart attack," James laughs as the front door opens.

I look at the house to see who must be Sirius walking outside. My mere glance at him weeks before did not do him justice. He stands at what must be well over six foot tall. Six foot one, or six foot two even. His black jeans fit perfectly around his lean waist, and his light blue button up hangs open to reveal the tight white t shirt underneath. His choice of wardrobe leaves nothing to question; his body is fit and muscular without being bulgy. He jerks his head to the side in order to fling his bangs out of his eyes. And my, oh my, what eyes. Steel grey and deep as the ocean. They are the perfect finish to his perfect face.

"Hay Bree," his deep husky voice spills out smoothly from his luscious lips. His eyes pass over Bree and land on me. His eyes scale my body in a way that I can almost feel it. It leaves me feeling exposed and flustered. I take a couple deep breaths to steady my racing heart. "And who do we have here?" He asks while reaching for my hand.

"Hello, I'm Arianna. Willson. Arianna Willson," I stammer out. Sirius looks up at me from beneath long dark eyelashes and I see recognition flash in his eyes, mixed with something I'm sure I've mistaken; fear. As quickly as it came it was gone.

"Well nice to meet you. I'm Sirius Black, and this here wanker is James Potter. Tell me, are you attending Hogwarts with us?"

For the life of me I can't understand why he's acting like he doesn't know who I am. He moves to turn away from me, but I also move to stay in front of him. "Did you hear me Sirius? It's me, Ari. I wrote you and told you I was coming. Didn't you get my letter from Minkx?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you are talking about," he replies firmly.

"What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about? We've been writing each other almost daily for the past four years! You're my closest friend!" My words sound hysterical even to my own ears.

To my surprise, he laughs. "Jeez Bree, you got yourself a loon this time! I haven't written any letters to an American since first year, and even then, I only did it to stay out of detention. I quit as soon as I was able. Come on James, let's go inside. I feel the need to get out of sight. Looks like I have another stalker. Fancy that!" He walks away from me and this time I let him. As he passes James he grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him to the house. But that doesn't stop James from craning his neck to look back at me.

I've never felt so let down and humiliated in my life. I stand there in shock as the heat builds up behind my eyes, threatening tears. But I'd rather die than let him see me cry, so I turn and walk away. I pass Bree and see the look of shock in her eyes begin to turn to fury. "Black you're a prick!" She yells before turning to catch up with me. "Come on Ari, let's go to my house and watch some muggle movies."

I spend the night at Bree's house, so my parents can't see how upset I am. I awake in Bree's guest room with my hair stuck to my face. I fell asleep crying. I go to take a shower, but realize that since I didn't go home, I have no spare clothes. A look at the clock tells me it's well past 10 and Bree should be awake. I make my way toward the door to do probably the bravest thing I've ever done... Barrow clothes from Bree. Just as I approach her door and raise my hand to knock she opens it.

With a lump of clothes in her hands and a serious look in her eye she says, "How much do you trust me?"

"Well seeing as how you are my only friend, I'd say quite a bit. Why?"

"Great! Go shower and put these on. No lip! Just do it!"

"Oh...Kay..." I say as she ushers me back to my room. The shower feels

"Bree! You can't possibly be serious!" I cry.

"No arguing! Just put it on!" I hear her shout back from my room.

"You'll be the death of me woman!" I snap back but put the clothes on anyway. To my surprise, they fit perfectly. I can't help but notice the slight curves to my body, dipping in at my waist and out again at my hips. I even notice that my breasts look bigger in this outfit, I might even be able to pass for a C cup. Taking a deep breath, I open the door, so Bree can see her handy work.

"Oh, my word!" She exclaims. "You look fabulous!"

"I'm not going outside like this Bree," I say with a sigh.

"Why the hell not? It's bloody hot outside and mother wants us out of the house for 'cleaning'. Besides, I saw Black and Potter leave an hour ago."

"Fine, fine. But they so much as show their faces and I'm out of here."

I slip on my converse and we make our way out the front door. Bree brought out two towels for us to lay on in the grass. Or at least that's what I thought until I turned around to see where she went, and she was spraying me in the face with the water hose.

"What the hell Bree?!" I scream as I spot another water hose across the yard. "Oh, you are so dead!" Rushing toward it, I turn it on as quickly as possible while trying to avoid getting sprayed with water in the face.

"Ha! Take that!" I cry as I point the nozzle at her and pull the handle turning it on full blast.

Bree shrieked and ran for cover. We continued this way for several minutes. But our fun stops short when someone yells "What the bloody hell?!"

I turn abruptly to find both Sirius and James standing in the front yard. I can yet again feel the tingling heat of his eyes on my body, so I drop the hose and try my best to cover my exposed middle by wrapping my arms around myself. Of two things I was immediately certain. One, that Bree had set me up. And two that it had worked. Sirius couldn't take his eyes off of me.

"What do you want Black? You and Potter were not invited," Bree snaps.

"We heard screaming..." James stammered.

"We thought you were bloody dying, but it turns out you just decided to run around the yard half naked for the whole bloody world to see! What the hell are you thinking?" Sirius growls. For some reason that I can't explain he seems to be furious with me. Taking in him and his scowl directed only toward me, I'm instantly pissed.

Bree opens her mouth to reply, but I step forward getting right in Sirius' face and say "What does it matter to you? We don't even know each other, right?"

"Hay I don't have to know you to be a concerned member of this neighborhood. I'm sincerely worried about what will happen to property values if two floozies get abducted and murdered. I just can't stand to let it happen on my watch-" Sirius begins, but he is abruptly cut off with the sound of my hand slapping across his face. Shock crosses his face, like he can't believe what just happened.

"Go to hell Black," I say, calling him his surname just as Bree did. "What I do and don't do has apparently never been of concern to you before, so don't start now. I'll do what I please, and I'll wear what I please, and you'll keep your bloody mouth shut about it." I shout at him. Before he can collect himself, I turn and walk up the steps to Bree's house, grabbing a towel as I go. I sneak one last look at him before I go inside. He looks both shocked and livid, and I love it.

The last couple weeks of summer go by in a flash. Bree and I, along with our mothers, do our shopping at Diagon Alley on a warm Saturday afternoon. I meet Bree's friend Lily Evens there. She's tall and gorgeous with fiery red hair. She came to stay with Bree for the remainder of the summer, and we became close friends very quickly. As much as I hated seeing Sirius, it was funny to watch James trail after Lily spewing both an endless stream of compliments and cheesy pickup lines. I swear Lily's catch phrase could be "Go away Potter!"

Before I know it, we are piling into the Ministry vehicle that Mr. Martin set up to take us to Kings Cross Station. To my dismay we are also joined by James and Sirius. I do my best to ignore his prying eyes.

"Something you need Black?" I ask when I catch him staring at me yet again.

"Nothing in particular. I figured I should keep an eye on you considering you are my stalker." He responds nonchalantly.

I glare at him and turn away, making a point not to let my gaze pass over him again. Boy this was going to be a long term.

We arrive at Kings Cross Station, and to my absolute horror, I discover that in order to get onto Platform 9 3/4 we must walk through a wall! Suddenly a fear of smacking my face into a brick wall all but cripples me. But I ran at the wall with my cart non-the-less, and it disappears just as the girls said it would. I find myself facing a miraculous red train with the words Hogwarts Express displayed on the front. After hugging my crying mother good bye yet again, the girls and I find a compartment around the middle of the train and settle in. The ride was uneventful until I left our compartment to find the restroom. I walk out of our compartment and turn right just to nearly walk dead into Sirius. I begin to apologize until I realize that he is preoccupied with the blond in front of him. Their lip lock looks so intense that I doubt he even notices me. I sidestep to avoid them when suddenly he's facing me.

"Stalk much?" He asks.

"Hay you and your... friend here are outside MY compartment. So, who's stalking who exactly?" I snap back. "Now if you'll excuse me."

He moves aside to let me pass, watching my every move as I do. His companion doesn't look very happy at the lack of attention she's currently receiving. I continue on without looking back, and when I return 5 minutes later they are gone.

Time seems to pass more quickly after I returned to the girls. I told them what happened in the hall, and they share my disgust at Black and his pervy ways. It isn't too long before the train starts to slow, and we are told over the loud speaker to get ready for our arrival. I stand in the hallway with the girls and my nerves return. I'm here. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finally. I can tell that my life is about to change dramatically. Boy I didn't know how right I was.

With a deep breath, I step off of the train, and into the war-zone.