Okay so I'm going to skip past all the awkwardness the rest of the night and the next day, right past the tense interactions on the train and in the great hall we returned to school. I'm not even going to mention how he hadn't addressed me by anything by my name since it happened or how I felt like I could feel pieces of my heart breaking off. I'm just going to jump to where I left off earlier; in the dorm with the girls. That's where the story really starts.

Right, so previously we've seen some complaining; "I snogged Sirius," "my life is over," yada, yada, yada, followed by some (rather rude I must say) remarks from the people who call themselves my friends. But then Lily said something that would get me into all sorts of trouble:

"He might like you too, have you thought of that?"

I sat up so quickly that my vision blinked in and out as I stared blankly at Lily. Jemma had put down her book and was looking at Lily with her eyebrow raised, and Emily had pulled her nightgown properly down over her head and looked at her incredulously.

"Maggie, I'm sorry about this," Jemma said, as she put a bookmark in and put her book aside, "but honestly, Lils, I'm doubting that boy has ever liked anyone."

Jemma and Emily were looking at me with that special best-friend trademark mix of concern, sympathy and pity you only see when you've gone and caught feelings for someone you absolutely should not catch feelings for. "I know that, Jem, I've known him since he discovered girls. Honestly, Lily, I appreciate the thought, but that's not what's happening here."

Lily collected herself and drew her hair away from her face in a very business-like manner, which usually meant we were about to get calmly schooled about something or other. She inclined slightly, "I'm being serious."

She was met with snort and disbelieving eyes from the rest of the room. "Okay, first: you're one of the only girls he's actually friends with," she held her hand up counting as she went.

"Okay, that's stupid," I interjected, "you guys are friends with him too."

"Yeah, kind of, but he is closer with you," Emily said, and Lily nodded empathetically.

"That's true," piped in Jemma.

I was about to protest again, but was silenced by a hand-gesture from Lily, that I knew better than to try to ignore.

"Second," Lily continued, raising a second finger, "he's always flirting with you."

Jemma and Emily nodded simultaneously. "Come on, Lils, don't forget: she flirts with him too," Emily grinned.

I looked at them incredulously. "I do not flirt with him!"

"Yeah right," snorted Jemma, "and Lily isn't going to end up with James."

Lily looked daggers at Jemma, but did not say anything (hah, she might as well have admitted to fancying him), rather choosing to respond to me. "Oh please," she said launching into a (horribly inaccurate) impression of me, "'oh, sugarpuff, you're so hilarious when you try to endanger the whole of Hogwarts with you gallant pranks.'"

Emily chimed in: "'Oh, sweetie-honey pie, stop stealing cheeky sips of my coffee, you absolute dashing jokester.'"

Can you believe those blatant affronts to my honor? "Excuse me, I do not sound that way! And besides, it is not flirting, it is friendly banter," I defended myself, rightly.

Lily ignored me completely, "Third: he's not gotten with a girl for absolute ages!"

I paused for a minute. While I could deny her other points (because they were rubbish), this one I could not deny. In the first years I knew him, Sirius never had girlfriends, but he always seemed to have girls, so the fact that none of us had seen him with a girl for some months was actually somewhat remarkable.

"See," Lily exclaimed, "you can't deny it!"

"Maybe not," I conceded, "but that doesn't actually mean anything, Lily. Even if he does like someone, it wouldn't be me."

"Now wait a minute," said Jemma, "while I'm still of the belief that Sirius Black has the emotional maturity of, well, of Sirius, if he was to like someone, it would be you Mags."

Emily nodded slowly, "yeah, she's probably right. I can't really see Sirius in a relationship, but if I were to force myself, it would be you."

Lilly nodded enthusiastically. "Honestly, Maggie, what have you got to lose anyhow?" She looked expectant and focused, like she would when she knew she was winning a discussion in class. "You've said the friendship is over anyway, so why not just go for it?" She shrugged and added with slyly: "even if it doesn't work out, at least you might get a good snog out of it."

Jemma looked at Lily in mock horror, "Lily Evans, I cannot believe your proper self would say such a thing!"

I wasn't really paying them much attention though, as the wheels were churning about in my head. I mean Lily did have a point. Not about Sirius liking me, but you know, about the snogging and stuff. I had already pissed all over our friendship, so I really didn't have much to lose did I? My thoughts were racing dizzyingly; I'm almost ashamed to admit that a large part of them were concerned with what we could do if I could convince him to reciprocate my feelings. I mean, even if he didn't fancy me, was there any harm in actually trying to get him to fancy me? Normally I'd be worried he'd figure out I liked him, but that was a moot point wasn't it. I thought, like Lou Reed would say, it was time for me to take a walk on the wild side. Maybe, if I used my *intellect* I could even get some extra perks out of it.

"Okay…" I spoke slowly, measuring my words very carefully, "I'm not saying I'm going to do it… But," I looked at Lily and grinned, "if I was to do it, Lily would have to do it with me."

I could tell Lily knew what I meant, by the blush in her cheeks and the way she looked quickly down at her feet. I figured by this point all she really needed with James was a little push; she was too proud to admit to like him by herself.

Emily, however, seemed very confused. She wrinkled her nose slightly, "you want Lily to try to snog Sirius with you?"

"I'm sorry, babe, I think that is something you have to do on your own," Jemma supplied, very unhelpfully.

"No," I said, still looking at Lily. "I want Lily to try a little with James."

Jemma and Emily both grinned widely. "Go get em' girls!" Emily whooped.

"Maggie!" Lily looked quite flustered, a completely different Lily from the one who had, only minutes before, been calmly explaining to me why I should pursue the man of my dreams. "I am not going to go after James Potter!"

"I'm not saying you should go after him, I just mean, you know, give him the benefit of the doubt for a while." I looked at her sincerely. I really did wish she would try to let go of some of the assumptions she still clung to about James. "He's really matured, what with the quidditch captain and head boy responsibilities and such. And I think that if you let yourself, you'd see how awesome he is!" Lily was looking a little less armed and ready for battle. "and then maybe you'll get a good snog out of it!" This time it was my turn to duck when a pillow came towards my head. Unfortunately we can't all be chasers with lightning reflexes (trust me, I've tried; James just laughed at me, the bastard) and it hit me square in the head.

I laughed and threw the pillow back to her. "So what are we doing then?"

Lily stuffed her pillow behind her back and sighed resolutely. "Fine," she threw her hands up dramatically, "if you, Margaret Josephine Philpott will attempt to seduce," Lily paused to waggle her eyebrows suggestively, "Mr. Sirius Black, then I, Lily Evans, will try not to get annoyed by everything James Potter says."

I shuffled forward to the end of my bed and reached out my hand to her. "Deal." She shook it.

Now that I had decided to attempt to seduce Sirius Black, I first had to lay some sort of plan, and more importantly, get back on speaking terms with him.

I began my devious plan without any idea whatsoever what I was to do, as I pulled Sirius aside after a painfully tense breakfast on Monday morning. I made sure to use the opportunity to touch his wrist loosely, lingering a second even when I got him away from the bustle of the students trying to get to their first classes.

When I let go of his wrist he turned to face me. The tension was tangible. It wasn't the good kind of tension either, you know the kind that makes your tummy bubble with anticipation, and your fingers and toes tingle, it was the other kind; the unbelievably awkward, lead-in-my-boots kind of tension.

"Soo…" Sirius looked like he was at a loss for words. I must say, I could relate.

I steeled my resolve trying to remember the things the girls had told me ("you can do it", "you're a sexy, sexy conqueror of love" "make him want you"). "So," I said, "I wanted to talk about what happened at James' house." I was actively combatting the shyer part of me, that was screaming violently at me to look away from his damn eyes, this is uncomfortable enough, damnit! But as I had recently decided to become a strong and confident women, I told that part of me to shut it.

"I was afraid of that," Sirius said slowly, and ran a hand through his (still annoyingly perfect) hair. I knew how he hated situations in which he was unsure of how to behave, and I had to say, I wasn't absolutely loving it either.

"Yeah, well, it's happening" I said, squaring my shoulders.

Sirius opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he could say anything. "I miss being friends," I said simply, "and it seems ridiculous to let a little moment of impaired judgement under the influence of considerable amounts of alcohol and teenage hormones ruin it." I reached out and put my hand on is arm.

Sirius was silent for a moment. "Yeah," he said after a minute, "I'd like to be friends again."

I smiled: "I think we have to stay friends, actually, because damnit if I'm going to leave Hogwarts without getting Lily with James."

A wide grin spread across his face. "Now we're talking, buttercup," he slung his arm casually over my shoulder as we began walking to potions, "nothing like a bit of loving scheming and deceit among friends."

My words exactly.