CHAPTER FOUR

Sirius's silver eyes watched as Lilac pulled her long red hair back into a ponytail. He admired her graceful movements and beautiful features. The first time he had met her on the train in their first year, she was a short tiny little girl with a stick like figure. Now, she was taller and had grown curves and lean muscles. He watched as he did her make up in the mirror, coloring her lips a soft coral pink. Her every movement seem to entrance him. The nickname Vixen suited her well.

"I'm ready to go," said Lilac turning around. She wore James's Quidditch jumper and washed out skinny jeans. Sirius wondered if she'd wear his jumper if he decided to join Quidditch.

"Wicked," said James grabbing his invisibility cloak. He threw it over her and Remus who were standing side by side. Sirius's heart jolted along with a surge of jealousy as he realized what could happen under an invisibility cloak. Standing up, he lifted part of the cloak and stood under it.

"You can see your leg," said Remus looking down.

"No you can't," said Sirius putting an arm around Lilac's waist and pulling her flush against him.

"The three of us won't fit under here," said Lilac frowning. He was now painfully aware of her hands which rested on his chest. It reminded him of the summer when she had tried to seduce him. He didn't want to admit it, but it worked.

"See you later mate," said Sirius pulling the cloak off of Remus.

"Sirius!" Lilac exclaimed with wide eyes. Sirius grinned at her and pulled her closer to him. Her face flushed red and he let go of her, happy to get such a reaction out of her. They silently made their way to the passageway into Honeydukes. The other three had to use the map to find a way to get there. "What was that for?"

"What?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow.

"You told Remus to go away," she said frowning, "but he was already under the cloak with me. He's a prefect, he can't get in trouble."

"I'm sure Moony can handle himself," he responded dismissively. As if on cue, the three other boys arrived and they went to Hogsmeade. While in the passageway, James and Sirius started singing. Peter was humming along and Lilac listened amused. Remus had a book with him but was smiling.

"C'mon, sing with us!" James exclaimed as he looped his arm around Lilac. "Oh the witches flying on their brooms! Into our hearts they zoom!"

"Shut up," laughed Lilac, "the Cauldron Cadets are so cheesy. I personally prefer muggle music."

"Like AC/DC," said Sirius knowing exactly what she was talking about, "A rollin' rock, electric shock."

The five all sang together, all of them knowing the lyrics. If Sirius and Lilac liked something the others were sure to like it too. They made everything more fun, even if Lilac was constantly studying. When they walked into the Three Broomsticks, Madame Rosmerta wasn't' surprised to see them out of school at all.

"Two butterbeers and three sets of firewhisky shots!" Sirius yelled heading to the bar. Rosmerta nodded at them and went to the back. Sirius took it as his chance to made a comment about her. "You think Rose is into students?"

"Oh shut up, you dog," scoffed Lilac shoving him. Sirius laughed and mirthfully leaned against her. The blonde woman came back with their drinks.

"Watch those four," advised Rosmerta, "don't let them get drunk."

"Will do, Rose," she said grinning. When she was about to take a butter beer, Sirius grabbed her hand.

"Those are for Remus and Peter. Today you're going to have fun," he said pushing three shots of firewhisky in front of her.

"I'm supposed to make sure you don't get drunk, not get drunk myself," hissed Lilac frowning at him. Sirius gave her a smirk and downed a shot.

"Love, I'd get drunk on you," he said in a low voice. Lilac's eyes widened and Sirius laughed, loud barks cutting through the loud chatter. She picked up the small shot glass filled to the brim and warily looked at James who was downing his second shot.

"What does it taste like?" Lilac asked picking up a glass.

"Fire," said James watching her closely, "but it's good. You don't have to drink it if you don't want to."

Biting her lip, she decided to just do it and drank the shot, tipping her head backwards. The liquid burned and she grabbed Sirius's arm to keep from falling off the barstool. After a while however, the burning taste turned more pleasant and she felt good.

"So?" Sirius asked watching her expression.

"It's… not bad," she mumbled looking over at Remus and Peter who were watching her. She picked the second one and drank it. "Augh. That's disgusting."

"Slow down there," mumbled Remus warily. Lilac smiled goofily, the alcohol finally reaching her. Sirius downed another shot before noticing her slightly buzzed expression. She was obviously a light-weight.

"Moony's right," he said grabbing her hand before she could drink the last one. He waved Rosmerta over. "One water for the light-weight."

While he was doing so, Lilac picked up the last shot with her free hand. Remus jumped up and grabbed it, taking the shot and drinking it himself. He made a face as he did so and Lilac giggled. She gave him a sultry look and slid a hand up his torso. James started choking and Remus turned bright red, frozen to the spot. Peter's mouth dropped open and Sirius slammed his glass on the counter, making Lilac yelp and jump. That seemed to snap her out of her intoxicated daze.

"Drink," he said shoving the glass of water at her, "maybe we should start heading back."

"Yeah, definitely," said James grabbing Lilac's arm, "come on Vixen. Next time we'll have you stick with butter beer."

As the four started to leave, Sirius grabbed his last shot and downed it. Madam Rosmerta gave him a knowing look and walked over to collect all the empty glasses and the money.

"You like her," she stated, "but you haven't told her."

"She doesn't need to know," said Sirius going through his pocket for money. Rosmerta pinned his hand to the table when he held it out to hand her the money. His eyebrows raised high. She was two years his senior but they had known each other during school. She was known for being a blunt person who got what she wanted.

"Then the next time she shows interest in someone don't stop her," she said challengingly. His hands clenched into fists as he visualized her putting her hands all over Remus or another man.

"I'm just protecting her," he said lowly before forcing the money into her hand and storming off. He found his friends halfway back to Hogwarts. Lilac had sobered up by then and she was talking to Remus animatedly. It was as if nothing had happened between the two of them and they were suddenly best friends. He wondered if they were anything more than just friends.

"What took you so long, Padfoot?" James asked hearing him approach them.

"Just talking to Rosie," said Sirius sending Lilac a wink. She gasped and hit the back of his head.

"You didn't!" Lilac exclaimed accusingly. James and Peter howled as they realized what Lilac was talking about. Sirius laughed and picked her up, wrapping his arm right under her bottom. "Ew! Get away from me, Sirius! Godric, you didn't wash your hands did you?"

"Why would I?" Sirius asked mockingly. Lilac paled and hit him on his shoulder repeatedly.

"Bastard!"

Severus Snape looked up when he caught a whiff of lilacs. He looked up to see Lilac. Ironically, she smelled just like the flower she was named after. Her beautiful red hair was damp and she looked like she had just came out of the shower.

"You're late," snaped Severus glaring at her.

"Do I care?" Lilac shot back raising an eyebrow. The tension between them was like two magnets with their same sides facing each other. They repelled each other no matter what. Unless one of them was willing to switch sides, neither would willingly come together.

"Did you give Lily the note?"

"I'm not close with her, but yes, I gave her the note," said Lilac taking out her cauldron and placing it on the table. They had switched their meeting spot from the library to an old abandoned classroom as Madam Pince would not have been happy with a temperamental experiment exploding in the middle of the library.

"What did she say?" Severus asked hopefully.

"Fuck off," grumbled Lilac annoyed, "I came here to work on the potion, not your dumb and non-existent love life."

"Don't speak like you have a love life," snarled Severus, his voice going higher and louder. He was obviously offended and embarrassed by what she had just said. Not that it wasn't true, anyways.

"Oh really? I bet I could get a love life faster than you ever could," she scoffed.

"I'm not here for your childish antics," he said pushing her bet to the side.

"Apparently you're not here for the potions either."

The two glared at each other for a minute before they got back to setting things up. The Draught of Living Death was the next potion that they would be making in class and both wanted to practice before they had to create one for a grade.

"Instead of cutting the beans—"

"Crush them, I know," interrupted Lilac cutting him off. He handed her a silver knife and she started crushing the beans. He was right, crushing them were much easier and more efficient than cutting. "Why didn't you like me? Ever since we first met you hated me. It was always Lily."

"Why wouldn't I?" Severus asked giving her a dark look. "Lily's my friend."

"Was."

"You're not sisters. You barely even know her. You and your sister was always leaving Lily out for no reason. Of course I hated you when you hated my friend."

"No reason?" Lilac asked scoffing. "You don't know anything about me, Snape."

"Lily was supposed to be happy at Hogwarts. She was supposed to be in Slytherin with me. She was supposed to be away from you and your horrid muggle sister," he spat, angrily taking out the sloth brain.

"Happy at Hogwarts? Oh I think she was perfectly happy back at home, where everyone practically worshipped her. Don't you ever wonder why Petunia and I never liked your Lily? Because she was perfect, and we weren't. Lily and I were twins, but does anyone ever remember that? No. Petunia and I grew close, yes, but we were all we had. My mother forgot me once. My own mother. She left Petunia and I all alone in the supermarket while she went to get Lily the pink balloon she oh so desperately wanted. She never knew what it felt like to be forgotten and left in the shadows until Hogwarts."

"So this is all it was?" Severus demanded angrily. "Jealousy and revenge? Is that why you and your friends attacked me last year? To make sure Lily's friendless?"

"No. This was me learning how to be me. I'm not Lily Evans and I never want to be her. I'm Lilac Evans and I'm perfectly happy with who I am," she said firmly. "I don't care that you're friends with Lily. Everything that happened last year? That is all on you. You called her a mudblood. Not me."

The two stirred their potion in silence for a while. Severus thought over her words carefully. He had ever considered Lilac's side in the story. He had grown up listening to Lily wail about her family but had never wondered why.

"It's working," mumbled Severus noticing how it turned into a pale shade of lilac-purple. Once they were finished with the potion, he took out a mint leaf. Slowly, he dropped it in the middle of the cauldron. It quickly shriveled up and died in less than a second. Shock and pride filled the both of them.

"It worked!" Lilac exclaimed loudly. Severus winced at her volume and silently celebrated.

"You're quite adequate in potions, Evans," he said with a hint of respect in his voice. Lilac's smile grew and he nodded her head at him.

"And so are you, Snape. I best be going now. I don't want the boys wondering where I've run off to," said Lilac pouring their potion into two flasks and stuffing one in her bag. The other was given to the Slytherin. She rushed out before he could make a comment on her choice of friends. To get back to the common room she had to pass by the library. There, a seventh year Ravenclaw by the name of Westley Creevy was waiting for her.

"Lilac," he said stepping in front of her, "do you have a moment?"

"Yes?" Lilac asked confused. She had never really talked to him before. Once or twice they shared a conversation over a book but that was all. He had bright blonde hair and blue eyes, he reminded her of Petunia.

"I was wondering if you had a date to the first Hogsmeade trip," he said with a nervous smile.

"Oh, no," said Lilac with a small smile, "why? Did you want to go with me?"

"Well actually, yes," he admitted. Lilac beamed at him.

"Alright then. It's a date," she said walking off. She was actually quite surprised with herself. All her life she had watched Sirius pick up girls and throw them away. Lilac didn't realize how much she had learned from him. Back in the common room, the Marauders were hanging out in front of the fireplace. It was now getting late and not many people were in the common room.

"Where were you?" James asked curiously.

"With Creevy," she answered, sitting on James's lap comfortably.

"With Creevy?" Sirius repeated, turning his head to look at her. When their eyes made contact, she felt a shiver go up her spine. The look he was sending her was dangerous and almost angry.

"Yes, with Westley Creevy. I have a date with him soon," she said casually. There was a long silence and Lilac furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what she had said or what had happened. Eventually Sirius got up and calmly walked up the stairs.

"I'll talk to Sirius," said James lifting her up and setting her down where Sirius was just sitting.

"Me too," said Peter rushing after James. Lilac looked at Remus curiously who just gave her a reassuring look.

"Sirius got in the Quidditch team. He's a beater," he informed. Lilac's eyes widened.

"That's brilliant!" Lilac exclaimed. Remus smiled and got up.

"Good night, Lilac."

Lilac couldn't understand what had happened to Sirius. The other night he had shut himself in their dorm and forced her to sleep in the girls' dorms. The next morning however, he had no problem clinging to her.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Lilac sighed as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. She didn't mind being back-hugged by him but she was trying to get to class on time and he was not helping.

"You smell like Lilacs," he mumbled. Lilac's cheeks burned as she struggled out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" Lilac demanded. "I need to get to class so leave me alone."

She noticed his frown and pulled them to the side. "Is something wrong? You're not usually this clingy."

"Nothing's wrong," he said tightening his grip around her. She turned around and examined him. His eyes looked tired and he didn't look as well-kept than usual. Obviously there was something wrong.

"Sirius," she said softly. His eyes darkened as she placed her hands on his cheeks. As if she was fire, he pushed her away and left. Lilac ran after him and followed him into an old abandoned classroom. "Sirius! What the hell is going on with you?"

"Nothing," he said gruffly. She grabbed his arm and made him face her. He glared at her, which took her aback. In all six years that she'd known him he'd never once sent a dirty look at her. They had argued a couple times but they were always playful and half-hearted. She was shoved against the wall before she could even process it. Something hot was against her mouth and her heart stopped when she realized it was Sirius's mouth.

Lilac didn't even notice her eyes closing as Sirius explored the cavern of her mouth. One of his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer to him while the other was placed gently on the back of her neck. Her hands found themselves tangled in his long scruffy hair. Lilac didn't even know what she was doing, she had never been kissed before.

When they ran out of air, Sirius moved away slightly, his face still hovering above her's. She slowly opened her eyes to see Sirius's silver eyes examining her carefully, watching to see her expression. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and she struggled to catch her breath. He brushed a lock of red hair out of her face before kissing her again, this time being softer and sweeter. A soft moan escaped her as he trailed his mouth across her jaw and down her throat.

"Sirius," she said breathily, "stop it. Sirius, stop."

Sirius froze and lifted his head to look at her. He was addicted to her and the taste of her lips and skin. The smell of Lilacs was intoxicating and he wanted so much more. He could barely breath around her yet he felt like he couldn't live without her.

"Forget about Creevy," he said firmly, "don't go on a date with him."

"Marlene will kill me," she said looking at his lips and then looking back at his eyes.

"Then we won't tell anyone," he said simply, "just shut up and stay here."

"I have class," she said pushing him away, "we're late!"

Sirius groaned and allowed her to drag him to class. Their DADA professor was not impressed. James raised an eyebrow and Remus gave them a disapproving look. Instead of sitting down next to James, Sirius pulled her into an empty seat near the back so they could sit next to each other. Normally, she'd sit next to Remus and Sirius would sit next to James.

"Mr. Black and Miss Evans, how nice of you two to grace us with your presence. Now, if one of you could tell me what a dementor is?" Professor Kerrile asked annoyed by their loud entrance.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them," said Lilac automatically, "They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as 'soul-sucking fiends', rendering a person an 'empty-shell'. Dementors are also used in Azkaban to guard the prison and the Dementor's kiss is like the Wizard equivalent of the death sentence."

"Very good, Miss Evans. Now how do you combat the Dementors, should you get too close to them?"

"She can demonstrate it," spoke Sirius with his head on a hand. He was gazing at her with a piercing gaze which made her want to flush with embarrassment. Professor Kerrile raised his eyebrows.

"Go ahead."

Lilac glared at Sirius and took out her wand.

"Expecto Patronum," she said calmly. A blue fox spewed out of the tip of her wand and ran around everyone and jumped from one desk to another gleefully. People gawked at it in awe and Sirius smirked at her.

"Very good! 20 points to Gryffindor!" Professor Kerrile yelled over the chatter of all the students. The fox disappeared and everyone started talking about how they wanted to learn how to produce a patronus. The professor discussed Patronuses for the rest of the class and since the Marauders were very well adequate with the spell, they entertained themselves for the class.

"Where were you two?" Remus asked curiously.

"Pranks," lied Sirius with a shrug. Lilac tried to hide a smile and looked around, her eyes finding a certain Slytherin who was trying to tell her something. He tapped his potions book and then drew a four on it. She nodded and then turned her attention back to the Marauders who were talking about Quidditch.

"Next year I'm going to be the Quidditch captain," said James proudly.

"For the game coming up you're wearing my jersey," said Sirius grinning at her. James frowned.

"She's wearing mine. She always wears my jerseys," he said unhappily. The two argued and Lilac rolled her eyes.

"Boys, I'm choosing whose's jersey to wear," she said making the two look at her, "I'll wear Sirius's jersey this time. After all, you need to start trying to get Lily to fall in love with you, James."

At four o'clock, she met Severus in the classroom they usually worked in. The two fell into their usual work pattern, picking out a random potion in his book to work on. Lilac found that he wasn't all that bad and he was good company if you didn't provoke him. Severus realized that Lilac wasn't as awful as he had thought after listening to Lily for years.

"What are you going to be after Hogwarts?" Lilac asked randomly. "Probably a potioneer?"

"The DADA professor," he said after a moment of silence.

"What? But the DADA professors never last more than a year. You should find a different profession," she said disapprovingly, "I don't want to have to get a report stating that you were missing and then have to hunt you down."

"You want to be an auror," stated Severus deciphering her words.

"Yep. Along with James and Sirius," she said adding the ingredients to the cauldron. Severus added an extra drop of extract.

"Don't follow Potter and Black around. They're only trouble," he grumbled.

"Looking out for me, are you?" Lilac teased with a laugh. "They may be trouble but I know they mean well. They've stopped bullying you, haven't they? James and Sirius have grown up a lot over the summer."

Severus was silent as he worked. Lilac noticed the tension around him and wisely didn't say anything more. They had little conversations as they stirred their potion, making little hypotheses about what they could do. It was comfortable, working with him. Soon it started to get late and they both went their separate ways.

Lilac practically lived in the boys' dorms. Her trunks were in their room and James liked sharing a bed with her. They had both grown used to it which made sleeping by themselves in the summer strange.

"No," said James not allowing her to sleep in his bed, "you're not going to wear my jersey."

"You're such an arse," sighed Lilac grabbing her pillow and going to Sirius. James looked disappointed and immediately called her back.

"No, Lilac c'mere," he whined.

"She's mine," said Sirius smugly as he wrapped his arms around her. James huffed and closed his curtains childishly. Sirius flicked his wand and the curtains around his bed closed. Now that they had the privacy in his bed, he attacked her mouth with his.

"Tomorrow's the full moon," she whispered when they caught their breath. Sirius nodded and pressed his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and the two comfortably fell asleep with their arms around each other.

Lilac was always a morning person, waking up before anyone else. What she didn't expect, was to see Sirius already awake. He was watching her lovingly and smiled when she opened her eyes.

"Come on," he whispered opening the curtains and getting dressed. Lilac got her clothes and closed the curtain so she could change. Once they were both ready, they went out of the common room and to one of the secret passageways.

"Where are we going?" Lilac asked as they walked hand in hand.

"A date," he said grinning, "Hogsmeade is tomorrow and there will be too many people around to go on a date. We'll go on a date today instead."

"How romantic of you," she giggled. He smirked at her and pecked her on the cheek. When they reached Hogsmeade, he let her drag her into Tomes and Scrolls. Usually he'd have complaints about going to a bookshop but he wanted her to enjoy herself.

"What's that?" Sirius asked when she took out an old dusty book.

"I don't know, it's written in old runes," she said furrowing her eyebrows, "I want to buy this. Maybe I can decipher it."

"Alright then," he said taking out a couple sickles and paying for the book despite Lilac's protests. They went to Gladrags Wizardwear after that and had fun trying on the most ridiculous articles of clothing they could find.

"Sirius, look at this!" Lilac exclaimed holding up a headband with stag prongs on top of it. Sirius laughed and put it on his head, grabbing faux glasses and pushing them onto his face. He dramatically pranced around her.

"Oh Lily, accept my love!" Sirius wailed.

"Never, you arrogant toe-rag!" Lilac exclaimed acting along. They laughed before putting everything away. They ended up buying a couple things from the store before going to the Three Broomsticks for lunch.

"When was I ever wrong?" Madam Rosmerta asked when the two walked in holding hands

"Shush, no one's supposed to know," said Sirius with a smirk. They ordered a couple sandwiches and talked about things for a while.

"Sirius?" Lilac asked as they walked out of the pub.

"Yes love?" Sirius asked swinging their interlocked hands.

"What are we?"

"Well, you're a witch and I'm a wizard," he said with a smirk. Lilac scowled and pulled her hand away from him, making him frown.

"I meant what is this? If this is just going to be another one of your flings I'm just going to leave now," she said turning to look at him. Sirius's eyebrows furrowed and he grabbed both of her hands.

"You're not a fling. You're my girlfriend, I thought that was already clear?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow.

"As clear as pumpkin juice," she said sarcastically. Sirius laughed and they went to Zonko's. If they were going to spend the entire day together they'd need a good excuse to tell the other Marauders.