Ophelia

After our confrontation, I no longer felt daring enough to take Sirius' hand – they were jammed in his robe pockets anyhow – and we plodded along in relative silence.

Now that everything was out in the open, I wasn't sure how to proceed. Some part of me was rejoicing that I'd been right about his reasons for asking me out, but another part was disappointed. I had been having a few daydreams about future dates... after I'd ferreted out all of the secrets he and his friends were guarding... and, unsurprisingly, he didn't seem too pleased about the idea of someone relentlessly learning he and his friends secrets despite being asked not to.

"So," I started, craning my head around to try and make eye contact, "Someone told me you know where the kitchens are."

His hand darted out and my breath hitched, but he only snatched my upper arm to yank me sideways so that I narrowly avoided collision with a streetlamp I'd been about to walk into. He still avoiding looking at me when he testily replied, "I do, but I'm not telling you."

I knocked my elbow into his ribs and was rewarded with his first glance since our confrontation. Wiggling my eyebrows over-dramatically, I teased, "What? Another secret?"

Sirius sighed, "No, I was just being mean. I'll show you sometime. It's a bit hard to find if you aren't very familiar with the corridors around there."

He sounded so business-like about it that it killed my enthusiasm a bit. Then again, offering to show me meant we'd have to speak on another occasion, which meant he couldn't completely hate me. Not complete hatred, wow, what a success, I bemoaned. Outwardly, I beamed at him, hopeful I could encourage even less hatred.

"You'd consort with a pest more than once?" I asked in mock surprise, hand over my heart.

"You are a pest," he agreed irritably, ignoring the question.

With more confidence than I even knew I had, I sweetly opined, "I think you like me a bit anyway."

I had no idea what I was doing, truth be told. Was I flirting? Was I trying to be endearing? When I had decided to simply beat him into a friendship with sheer stubbornness? For whatever reason, my mouth was working faster than my brain.

"I'd like you more if you agreed to stay out of my business," came his retort.

"Well, that's fine, it's Lupin that has the most secrets, not you."

Sirius shot me a dark look and opened his mouth to snap something back, but we'd stepped into the Three Broomsticks at the same moment. He led me to a booth in the back, half-hidden away from most of the crowd, and nearly shoved me into the seat, then went up to the bar.

I watched him make the owner – a young women a few years older than us – behind the bar laugh and blush prettily, and wondered if he intended to abandon me there. It wouldn't surprise me. I'd seen Sirius pull a few pranks that were downright cruel and he was, I guessed, justified in not liking me. Just as I contemplated going up to get my own drink, I saw him turn around and head back my way. I fought off a smile when I noticed he had two butterbeers.

"You came back."

He relaxed into the booth and took a long swig, dark eyebrows knitting neatly in confusion. "Well yeah," he replied waspishly, and I thought it was kind of sweet that he hadn't considered ditching me. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he finally broke. "So, what's your favorite color?"

I could feel the awkwardness in the air, it was so thick, but I tried to ignore it. "Pink," I told him.

"Typical girl," he scoffed. It didn't seem scornful, just playful. "Mine is gold."

"Die-hard Gryffindor, are you?"

The rest of the time went along in the same manner, with us exchanging answers to questions that people only really asked on first dates anyway and filling in the rest by relentlessly poking at and plaguing the other. There was much eye-rolling, grousing, and scoffing on both sides, but neither of us made any move to leave until the sun had nearly set and almost everyone had already returned back up the castle. It had been... nice, interesting, and I wondered what he thought of it all. Did he want my friendship, or did he not care at all? It was hard to tell. He'd spent the entire day with me, longer than he had to, longer than most dates went on for, but he'd been a bit of a tosser, too. It made my head hurt to contemplate, so I gave up.

In the common room, when we finally made it up, we stopped short of where his friends sat and Sirius lowered his voice for privacy, leaning in to be sure no one overheard. He was so close I could see that I could see my own reflection in his eyes, which were a stormy gray, and I wanted to kick myself for getting breathless by his proximity.

It was the kind of moment where a girl might expect to be told that the date was fun, or maybe get a kiss if it'd gone really well, but Sirius Black lowly warned, "I don't like you, you know. You really ought to stay out of our business."

I should have said something back, but he turned on his heel and left me standing there. With a toss of my hair – I suppressed my urge to scowl or make a childish face at him – I managed to gracefully ascend the stairs. He hadn't seemed to hate me at any point, so, what was his deal anyway? Boys, I thought, they're more trouble than they're worth. I didn't learn a thing about my mystery and I couldn't decide whether we'd been close to friendship or on opposite sides of a battlefield.

Stalking inside the dormitory, I flopped onto my bed, buried my head into a pillow, and let out a frustrated scream – much to Marlene and Farrah's amusement. He doesn't like me, well, he's a liar... besides, he isn't exactly the greatest person anyway, the arrogant berk. My thoughts were a jumbled mixture of confusion, hurt, annoyance, and fondness, but finally I remembered myself. Focus on something else. You've got a mystery to solve and Sirius is obviously not going to be much help, he's going to be a complete distraction. Pull yourself together.

Sitting upright, I calmly addressed the two of them, "Before you ask, the date was fine, but no, I don't think I'll go on another."

Marlene, looking more alarmed than confused, nudged Farrah. The two of them exchanged wide-eyed looks, then, struck by the ridiculous contrast of my muffled screaming and my apparent calm, set off into peels of laughter, which were apparently contagious, because I was soon giggling along with them.

Sirius

"How was it, then?" James wondered, smirking.

Peter added, "You looked cozy just then."

Remus raised an eyebrow, smiling expectantly.

I didn't know what to say. How was it? It hadn't been all bad. She was okay company, when she stopped being a pest, but that was hardly the point. I'd gotten what I'd wanted. I knew what she was up to. There would be more dating, no more anything, just being safe and making sure she kept her nose out of our business. It didn't matter if it felt nice to prank with her or that I could perfectly recall her face lit up with that manic smile. The real question was what to tell Remus. Did I worry him with it, or not?

Without thinking on it much, I knew that he needed to know. It was Remus who had the most to lose. It was his secret and I wasn't going to make the mistake of deciding for him who got to know. Not again.

"She wants to figure out what we're up to," I told them, focusing on Remus. His smile faded, leaving completely when I continued, "She thinks something is off about you in particular, Moony."

James cut in, gentler, "We weren't sure, she just seemed interested in you... are you sure, Pads?"

"She told me," I replied, shrugging. "She said she's going to figure it out. I don't think we can convince her it's just in her head."

Peter piped up, confused, "Then what do we do?"

Remus, frowning, asked urgently, "Does she know anything yet?"

I made a face. "She doesn't know anything. She just suspects that there's something to know."

"Then we do nothing," James cut in authoritatively. We looked to him and fell silent and he continued, saying, "We just need to be extra careful. She hasn't figured anything out, we'll just be sure to give her no proof of anything. She'll stop looking if she never finds anything. You might want to avoid her, unless you think that's more suspicious, Remus."

The werewolf shook his head. "I think Lily invited her to our study group. I can't just avoid her there. Besides, she's a nice girl and she's right... there is something to figure out. How can I blame her for noticing?"

"She should keep her nose out of our business," I muttered darkly.

Remus gave me a knowing look, and I couldn't hold his gaze. He knew that I still felt guilty for what happened with Snape. "Padfoot, relax, she doesn't know anything. She won't find out."

I felt worse listening to him comfort me. Wasn't I supposed to be comforting him? He was the one whose life would be ruined if his secret got out, not mine. I scowled.

"She seemed taken with Padfoot, anyway, I'm sure he can distract her if she gets too nosy," Peter teased suddenly, causing both James and Remus to snicker.

Remus and James joined in on the teasing, commenting on how long we were gone and the way she'd looked when they saw us together. I endured their playful jabs and gave a growl back, tossing back threats of violence for their cheek.

James eventually turned to Remus, both of them bantering back and forth over how I could distract Ophelia in an effort to embarrass me. It might have worked if I'd been listening to it all, but I was busy nudging Peter. He grinned up at me, pleased with himself. His timing wasn't coincidence – it never was. Peter had a knack for noticing when I was pitying myself and pulling me out of it.

I really had the best friends. There were no better group of people anywhere in this world, that was one thing I was sure of. I'd be damned if I let anyone hurt them, especially a nosy girl like Ophelia Marks.