II. CONVERSATIO

six days left

"…and then he said he'd never before noticed my hair looked almost golden in the firelight!" Emma finished, brushing said hair. They sat in their dormitory, listening to her report about last evening. Actually, she hadn't had a real date, but Amos Diggory and Emma shared a shift in homework supervision for the first- and second-years. Fortunately, these were quite bright children, so Emma and Amos had plenty of time to talk.

"How sweet!" Jemima Boot squealed. Emma nodded eagerly. "This means", she said, blushing slightly, "he's been watching me. My hair."

"In the firelight", Leslie added with mock drama.

"Oh, Les", Jemima's twin sister Jolanda scolded her. "You have absolutely no sense for romance."

Leslie smiled. "I'll try to find out what he tells his friends about last evening, alright?" She got up and grabbed her bag. Desiree Lejour followed her since they had Ancient Runes together. "Leslie, uh…what exactly were you doing with Sirius Black yesterday afternoon?"

"Nothing."

"C'mon, he's a hopeless skirt chaser." Desiree grinned. "Honestly, girl, I would never have expected that from you."

"We were just talking", Leslie insisted. "As you said, he's a skirt chaser, which is why I'll never get involved with him."

"Just talking, huh?" her friend repeated. "That's what they always say, honey."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Dessie, quit it!"

"You wish. I want to hear all the dirty details."

Leslie frowned and looked at her. "His friend dared him to become my boyfriend within a week, so winning that bet was all he had in mind. Happy now?" Desiree didn't know whether to be appalled or disgusted. "That's not very nice."

"No", Leslie agreed. "I told him so, too. We've agreed on staying away from each other. After all", she added, grinning slightly, "our families hate each other and stuff."

"Not that this was a reason for avoiding him." Desiree giggled and entered the classroom before her friend's fist could hit her shoulder.


"It's not fair", Desiree complained. "Why do you have time off now?"

"Because I always knew Gobstones was utterly boring", Leslie answered, pushing her friend out of the classroom. "Off you go, your club will be waiting. I have to observe Amos Diggory." She made her way to the Astronomy tower, hoping to find the boy there, but before she got there, she stopped wondering how on earth she was supposed to observe him. As far as she knew, he was a diligent student and paid attention in class instead of talking to his friends. And the walls were made of solid grey stone, not glass – reading his lips would be a bit difficult to manage unless she sat right next to Professor Aspidiske. Emma would have to wait until after dinner. Leslie turned and headed for the library to join her friends who were quietly discussing the ingredients of the Draught of Living Death. Soon there was an argument going on.

"It's sloth brain, not slug brain", Jolanda insisted. "Didn't you pay attention to Professor Slughorn?"

"It's Slothhorn, not Slughorn", Jemima mocked her. "Why would any European get the idea to use sloth brain? Honestly, Jolly."

"The Draught of Living Death was invented by a medicine man of the Aztecs, who lived in South America. Sloths are quite common there", a girl at the table nearby informed them. Leslie looked up. Lily Evans smiled at them and then continued to chat with her friend. Jemima and Jolanda went on arguing ("I told you so, Jemma!" – "Shut up, Professor Know-it-all!" – "You just can't accept I was right!"), and Emma sighed and finished her essay, but Leslie couldn't take her eyes off Lily Evans. Or rather, Lily's mouth. What was she talking about?

Leslie. … Yes, Sirius' Hufflepuff challenge … Serves him right. … Pardon? I wasn't going to say a thing about James Potter! Lily blushed. Leslie guessed her friend (of whom she could only see the back) was teasing her or digging deeper, because…

You know…I have to admit he isn't that bad. … I've grown to like him. He has changed. … No way! A girl doesn't ask the boy! – Besides, I don't fully trust him. … Say what you want, but I'm too afraid – too afraid he doesn't mean it, you know? Just making fun of me again.

"Jesus", Leslie murmured. "I didn't know liking someone was so difficult. Emma, are you sure you and Amos want to get together?"

"In his case I'm not sure, thanks to you", Emma answered pointedly. "But otherwise, yes, I'm sure. Why do you ask?"

Leslie gnawed her lip. "I'm sorry, Emma. At dinner I'll try to find out, I promise." Emma noticed she hadn't responded to the second question, but before she could ask, Leslie got up and left the library, still biting her lip. She had come to a decision.


To her surprise, she found Sirius very quickly. Apparently, he had watched the Quidditch practice and was now reconsidering some tactics with James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. Remus Lupin walked beside them, lost in a book – this while walking, Leslie noticed approvingly – and seemed unbothered by his friends' wild gesturing. The girl decided her concern had to wait. Getting in the way of some boys discussing Quidditch matters was highly dangerous, especially if one of the boys was Potter. Things seemed to conspire against her.

She revised the last thought upon walking right into Amos Diggory in the Hufflepuff common room. His eyes lit up when he recognised her. "Leslie! Have you seen Emma? Is she alright?"

"Uh, yes", Leslie said, taken by surprise. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Well, er, I don't know, but she seemed unusually quiet last evening", Amos explained nervously, "and now I'm wondering if I said something wrong?" Blimey, he was so in love. She restrained a grin and tried to calm him: "No, you didn't. She was a bit tired, that's all. It was absolutely not your fault whatsoever."

"Good." He breathed deeply. "Because I'd hate to hurt her. I, um, she's very nice, that's why."

She's very nice? How insanely romantic. Leslie raised an eyebrow but smiled. "Believe me, Emma is aware of that."

"Yeah, Amos, get off your backside with her", a cheerful voice behind her added. "But we can't help you, because unfortunately Leslie's case is a tad more difficult." Desiree beamed at the boy, grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her to the dormitory where she flopped onto her bed and giggled. "Desiree!" Leslie hissed and rubbed her wrist. "There is no 'case' of mine!"

"I know, I know, and I'm the Empress of China. – Now, where have you been? I thought I'd find you near the Astronomy tower."

"You should've considered a crystal ball. I was in the library, with Emma, Jem, and Jolly. Did you know the Draught of Living Death was originally from South America?"


They told Emma the news at dinner. She almost spilt her pumpkin juice. The twins behaved like loving sisters again, their arguments never lasted for long. Leslie and Emma discussed the "Hobgoblins'" new album (too much drumming for their taste), and everything was normal until Desiree nudged Leslie. Hard. "Ouch!" - "Shh. Don't move, don't scream, don't look over, but…Sirius Black is staring at you. – I told you NOT to look over!"

He was indeed staring. Leslie met his eyes for a second. A grin flashed across his face. She looked back at Emma. "Sorry. Where were we?" But his gaze seemed to burn her.

As they left the Great Hall, she caught sight of Sirius' tall figure. She made an excuse to the girls and followed him. He was, thank Merlin, alone for once. "Black!"

"Hello, Mondegreen."

"Could I have a word with you?"

"Aw, Leslie, don't tell me you're giving me another chance." He grinned.

"Actually, I am…that is, if you want it." She glanced up at him.

"Really?"

"Hm." She walked beside him, looking to the ground.

"Challenge accepted. Do tell me…what made you change your mind?"

She squirmed. "I'll tell you if you…win your bet, alright?"

Sirius shrugged. "Makes the whole thing even more attractive."

Leslie stopped and faced him. "Listen, Black…er, Sirius. You have to mean it. Convince me you mean it, convince me I'm not any stupid challenge, and I'll help you win your bet. But if you intend to play games with me, you'll lose."

He became serious for a moment. "Understood. – So, Leslie" – his voice was playful as usual – "would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?"

"Yes", she smirked, "but I can't. No permission."

"Well, if that's the only problem, meet me in the entrance hall at, let's say, half past ten." He turned and waved back at her. "Wait, Black, what are you up to?" He merely grinned again. Leslie frowned and headed for the Hufflepuff common room.