Sirius groaned and leaned his head back against the wall, his hands wrapped through Alicia's hair as her mouth worked its magic on him. They were in an abandoned classroom on the fifth floor, one that Sirius was very familiar with. This was generally where he brought girls when he needed to work out his stress and frustrations.

Alicia stood and ran her hands under Sirius' shirt, enjoying the feel of his abs. He pulled his pants up enough to keep from tripping before picking her up, his mouth meeting hers as her legs wrapped around his waist. He stumbled over to the old, dusty teacher's desk and sat her on top before pushing his pants back down and flipping her onto her stomach.

It was late Sunday evening when he left the classroom, and Alicia. Thoughtlessly, he found himself at a frequent haunt of his, the Astronomy tower. Lighting a cigarette, he leaned on the wall and let his eyes wonder over the grounds. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of the night breeze against his face as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

He started when he heard the tower door creak open. It was the Ravenclaw that he used to win the belly rub bet, Jinks, and she was carrying her Astronomy book. He looked her over while she was still oblivious to his presence and definitely appreciated what he saw. She wasn't textbook pretty, like the girl he had just left in the classroom and she didn't have near enough boobs to suit his taste, but he had to admit she was still attractive. She wasn't in her uniform, opting instead for some grey cloth shorts that showed off her toned legs and a blue short sleeved t-shirt that clung to her figure. Her hair was down in natural waves around her shoulders and it didn't look like she had much make up on. It was clear that she wasn't expecting to run into anyone tonight.

"Star gazing?"

Sirius grinned when she jumped and dropped her book to the ground.

"Jeez, Black, you scared the shit out of me!" She exhaled loudly, trying to regain her composure. She had definitely not expected to see anyone up here tonight. Subconsciously pulling at her shorts as if she could will them to lengthen, she started to reach for her book but Sirius beat her to it.

"Thanks." As she took her book from him she couldn't help but notice that he looked a bit of a mess. His white shirt was only half buttoned and his tie hung loose around his neck. His hair was a complete wreck, even more so than usual, and he had a cigarette in his hand.

Then she remembered Alicia's gloating and smirked knowingly, "I guess Alicia is pretty happy right about now."

"Who?" Sirius paused. From the look on her face that was probably not the best answer. Alicia. Alicia? Ohhhhhhh, Alicia. "Of course she is." Taking a final draw off his cigarette, he flicked it over the tower wall. "Homework already?" He motioned toward the book in her hand. What a Ravenclaw.

"As if you don't have some. I'm just trying to get a jump start on mine. Getting behind the first week of school sets a bad pace for the year."

"Spending the first weekend back doing homework sets a bad pace also."

She rolled her eyes, "Considering your extracurricular activities, I can see how you would think so. I, however, plan to be well prepared for N.E.W.T.s." She sat down in the middle of the tower floor and opened her book to chapter seven, expecting the conversation to be over.

Instead of leaving, though, Sirius sat down a few feet from her and crossed his legs. He wasn't in N.E.W.T. Astronomy but he did enjoy the subject nonetheless. "What are you studying?"

She looked at him curiously, not sure why he was still on the roof. "I'm tracking he movement of Jupiter for a project."

He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his elbows. "Sometimes I regret not taking N.E.W.T. Astronomy."

Dakota brushed her hair behind her ears. "Why didn't you?"

He shrugged, "I don't need it to be an auror. Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Charms. Then I'm taking Herbology and Muggle Studies."

Dakota raised her eyebrows, impressed. "An auror, huh? Interested in locking all the bad guys away?"

She said it in a joking manner, though when Sirius answered there was no trace of humor in his voice. "Absolutely."

She nodded her head, slightly taken aback by his intensity. Finally she broke away to find Jupiter in the night sky.

Sirius didn't really know why he was still on the roof. His cigarette was long gone and with Dakota there now, it wasn't the sanctuary that it normally was. He was intrigued by this girl though. He had never had even one conversation with her but he found her interesting. She also looked like she would be an excellent shag.

She was scratching away at her parchment, glancing in the sky intermittently, "Are you excited for Quidditch to start?"

Sirius smirked, "Excited to win the Cup again."

She threw a glare at him, "You guys are going down, Black."

He let out a barking laugh and decided to light another cigarette.

"You wish, Jinks. You guys will need a new seeker before you can think about winner anything."

Dakota pretended to be appalled, though in reality it was definitely their seeker that kept them from the cup last year. The pickings had been thin when tryouts came around and they went with the best option they had available at the time. "Jory isn't that bad!"

Sirius gave her a pointed look that clearly said 'we both know that's a load of bull'. Finally, she could hold a straight face no longer and they both burst out laughing.

"Ok, ok. He is pretty bad."

"Pretty bad? You guys had Slytherin the last match of the year and he blew it." He took a draw from his cigarette and exhaled smoke, blowing to the left, away from Dakota.

Dakota couldn't help but laugh, even though she was bitter over the memory of their giant loss that ended up costing them the cup last year. "Hopefully we'll have some fresh meat at tryouts this year."

"Hopefully you won't."

She glared at him and he let out a very attractive bark-like laugh. Looking up at the night sky, he took another draw off of his cigarette, giving her the opportunity to inconspicuously examine him. He was definitely very handsome. His face had lost its teenage boyishness and tonight he had a five o'clock shadow that she knew would be gone by class tomorrow, as she couldn't recall ever seeing him with facial hair. He had an intensity about him, even when he was joking around, that she had never really noticed until tonight.

He glanced over and caught her staring, causing a blush to form on her cheeks as she diverted her attention back to Jupiter, trying to pretend that she didn't just embarrass herself.

He smirked to himself, thinking how cute she looked flushed, and how easy it was to make her do so. It made him wonder how easy it would be to set her whole body on fire, not just her face.

He stood up and flicked his cigarette over the wall and motioned towards the door. "Potions in the morning. See you then."

She smiled and bid him goodnight, watching as he left the tower. The talk of his charms were definitely not exaggerated. She could see how girls would fall all over him in attempts to get their turn in his bed. She couldn't help but think that shagging him would definitely be a memorable experience for the girls that had succeeded. At the same time, though, she didn't really understand how they could line up to sleep with him KNOWING that they would never have a relationship. She couldn't remember ever hearing of Sirius Black having a relationship with anybody in their years at Hogwarts, and she was pretty sure it was something the whole school would know about.

She, herself, was still a virgin. Not that she was really that moral, she just hadn't felt comfortable enough with anyone yet to actually want to have sex with them. Most of the boys their age were awkward and fumbling and she would like to think that when she did have sex, it would mean something.

Anna yawned over her pancakes the next morning. "What time did you get back to the dorm last night and how the hell are you not sleepy?"

Dakota laughed as she picked through her omelet. "Not everybody requires 12 hours of sleep a night."

"Ugh, I can't believe its Monday already! I don't want to go to Potions!"

Dakota laughed, "Quit complaining, its really not that bad." She stood and pulled her bag onto her shoulder, grabbing a piece of toast. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Anna poured herself a cup of coffee to drink on the way, glad that Dakota was her partner so that she would only have to half pay attention.

"Why are you so tired? You were already in bed when I got there last night."

Brushing her hair behind her ear, Anna shrugged. "I just didn't sleep well I guess."

"Hey guys! Good weekend?" Lily Evans jogged to catch up with them and smiled her dazzling smile.

Dakota tucked the information about Anna away for later. "It wasn't bad. I started my Astronomy project, though I've still not decided exactly what I want to do for Transfiguration yet."

"I haven't either, maybe we should hit the library together this evening and look?"

"Yea, sure, sounds good."

They pushed the dungeon door open and took their seats among the other seventh year N.E.W.T. students. Slughorn was already at his desk, scribbling away at a piece of parchment. "Good morning, everybody! Today is going to be an exciting class."

Anna nudged Dakota with her elbow, "Slughorn's 'exciting' means this is probably going to blow".

He stood up and instructed the students to follow suit. "Now," He waved his wand and something appeared on the blackboard. Paired names. It was paired names. He was assigning them partners. Dakota's forehead hit the desk with a thud as the entire glass groaned and started to protest.

"Now, now! This is not for the entire year, just for a special project we are going to start!"

Anna was devastated, "Whaaat? What the hell am I going to do if you're not my partner?" Their eyes scanned the board anxiously. "Gregory Davis." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Any clue if he's any good at this?"

Dakota was already collecting her books. "You will be fine, Ann. You're better at this than you give yourself credit for."

Anna's eyes continued to scan the board, "Why are you so calm, who are you with?" She then glared at Dakota, "No wonder you're so accepting, you got Remus Lupin!"

Dakota waggled her eyebrows at Anna before turning around to look for Remus. She was definitely relieved that she was paired with him. He was intelligent, really good at Potions, and easy on the eyes to boot. She could have been paired with much worse.

She caught Remus' eye and met him halfway through the classroom. "Hey, Dakota." He had a nice smile. "Where do you want to sit?"

She shrugged, "I prefer towards the front, but I'm fine wherever you want."

He put his hand on the small of her back and directed her towards the front of the room. The only open table was on the right side so they claimed that as theirs. "So what do you think this project is?"

She started unloading her supplies, "Knowing Slughorn, it's hard to tell. Hopefully something interesting at least. Sorry you didn't get with one of your friends."

Remus chuckled, "I'm not. Now they'll have to actually pay attention in order to pass their assignments."

"That's exactly what Anna said about losing me as a partner!"

They shared a laugh and settled into their new seats. Looking around, Dakota was interested in seeing who everybody got paired with. Gregory Davis, Anna's new partner, was a nice Hufflepuff boy that was kind of shy. He had blonde hair and green eyes and was not specifically attractive, though not unattractive either. Lily Evans got paired with James Potter. Dakota did NOT see that going well, though James looked like he was on cloud nine. Peter Pettigrew got paired with a Slytherin girl, Jaquelin Morass. She was a tall girl with a pretty face and a bad attitude. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Peter having to put up with her. She didn't see Sirius at first, which just made her even more curious.

"Looking for somebody?"

Dakota jumped and turned around to find Sirius standing directly behind her. She laughed and shoved his shoulder, "You just enjoy scaring the hell out of me, don't you?"

He shrugged in response, "Maybe I just think you're cute when you're flustered." He turned his attention then to Remus, "I'm with Lestrange." They shared a look between them, having a moment of silent communication that left Dakota completely in the dark as to what it was about. Sirius turned back to her and smiled, "You should trade me partners, Moony. Jinks and I could get a lot accomplished." He didn't wait for a response, winking at Dakota as he made his way back to Rodolphus.

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