Sorry this took so long. I wrote the entire chapter the exact way i wanted it and FF didn't save it!

so i know this is a lot of Sirius/Ella, but i promise James/Lilly is coming.

Please review. Especially since I had to write this chapter TWICE.


James and Lily took hold of the dusty tea cup and right before the crushing sensation took over, James heard her say, "I was most definitely wrong."

After waving goodbye to their friends, who were bundled up for the train, Sirius grabbed Ella, Saying only, "common Trouble," before hauling her to the common room for a game of wizards chess.

The first game went swiftly. The two friends had always been competitive and Sirius found himself enjoying her reactions throughout the game. By the time Sirius's queen beheaded three of her knights Ella began to scowl. Sirius barely contained his laughter, bloody hell she's competitive...and quite adorable when she pouts. Immediately, Sirius shook himself of those thoughts, scolding himself for such lack of control.

Sirius won the first game, earning a quick smirk from Ella who demanded a rematch. However, his victory didn't last long. In the second match, Ella avenged the loss of her knights heads with an impressive dismemberment of Sirius' king. The swift slice started at the groin, went up through the piece's chest and came out through the top of the king's head. The king split into two pieces around the blade. Sirius cringed as the king began to cry out, "SHE'S MADE ME A UNIC! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS TREACHERY!" Ella smirked at him just as his king started to demand, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

"A bit blood thirsty, are you?"

she shrugged, "my knights were quite upset about their missing heads. It was their second appendage, after all!"

Sirius chuckled and shook his head.

The third game was just as painful as Ella slaughtered Sirius's entire set. Victoriously, Ella jumped to her feet and began an obnoxious parade around the common room. She lowered her voice, in her best impression of Conald Rathvane, the famous quidditch-announcers voice, and boomed, "AND IT'S A DEVASTATING DEFEAT FOR SIRIUS TELULA BLACK!"

He chuckled, "THAT is not my middle name."

She continued to parade, "It is since you wont tell me what your middle name is!"

Her hands were thrown skyward as she continued to dance in place, eyes closed. Sirius noticed a sliver of skin appear between her blouse and trousers and watched the way the skin peaked higher with every swing of her hips. Don't think about her hips. Don't think about her hips. Sirius felt that this mental chant had almost become a daily routine.

He had barely managed the task, by reciting the uses for a bezour, when Ella had thrown herself directly onto his lap, her arms clasped around his neck.

"Aw, don't look so pained Ace. You played a brilliant first round and you almost had me for a minute on the second."

"Yes I was quite impressed with your castration. No wonder boys are so frightened of you."

Ella pretended to look offended as Sirius's eyes lit with laughter.

"Who...MOI?" She adopted a bizare southern accent. "Why, I'm as harmless as a pygmy puff!"

"tell that to Reid Fellows, didn't you land him in the hospital wing a few months back?"

Ella's face faltered with an emotion Sirius couldn't name, "you heard about that?"

"Yea? Reid's a Slytherin! i was quite proud of you, nearly ended our row just to offer congratulations!"

She rolled her eyes.

"See?" he teased, " Blokes ought to be afraid. castrations and hospital wings. You're bloody dangerous."

Ella's eyes narrowed as she still sat on his lap, she playfully reached down toward his hips, "Oi! You want a demonstration?"

Sirius bucked his hips, immediately dumping Ella ten feet away on the floor as he fought to stand.

She looked up at him, from the floor, a bit shocked.

Sirius panicked a bit, still focusing on what it would be like with her hands on him. Bleeding hell, make it a laugh.

He scoffed at her, "Now now, I don't give free samples."

Sirius breathed a sigh when her eyes with laughter and disbelief.

Ella knew fully well that Sirius gave certain samples of himself on a daily basis and he saw a hint of challenge in her stare.

However he hadn't expect her to say- "oh really? What kind of payment do you take?"

Christ, she's going to kill me.

Sirius had to wonder, had they always been this way? This undercut heat and sexual innuendos between the two? He honestly wasn't sure. Sure, they had always been sarcastic and teasing, but had they always acted like such a...couple?

Had he always been so blind to only see her as "one of the boys"? Sirius could remember the time he had laughed when she told him the sloppy kisses that Corner bloke had given her behind the Hogs Head. And she had teased him endlessly when Penelope Vain had straddled him in a broom closet, knocking over a bucket of Saphire's Surefire Sudds onto his head. Sirius was quite sure that he'd no longer find such a regaling tales quite as funny. Perhaps their friendship hadn't changed, Sirius realized, but he certainly had.

He decided not to answer her, instead playfully sighing. "Trouble sure was a great name for you. Common' lets pay a visit to the kitchens."

They had skipped dinner for their second game of chess and Sirius was sure she was as ravenous as he was. Eagerly, she pulled herself off the floor and smile mischievously at him.

"Alright. Let's race there."

He nodded to her, so bloody competitive.

Sirius turned to clear the chess board as he say Ella unsheathe and flick her wand, out of the corner of his eye. He thought Ella had simply helped accio a forgotten game peice, however when he turned, she was walking backwards out the portrait hole. She had that dangerous smirk on her face and Sirius stopped, puzzling at what she had done.

"Oi, I thought you fancied a race?"

"I do," she called back. "I'll see you there!" She yelled as she ran down the corridor.

Sirius lurched forward to catch her and in the next instant was face down on the common floor. He was stunned for a moment, wondering why his tongue had become acquainted with the dusty carpet, when he put two-and-two together. She must had tied his laces.

Christ, she was going to kill him.


Ella stopped at the portrait to the kitchens, quickly tickling the pair, chuckling at how slow Ace's reflexes had become. Their separation had obviously taken it's toll on him because his guard was fully down. No doubt, it'd been a while since he'd had his mates cursing his books to stick to the common-room ceiling or charming his robes his favorite shade of putrid.

Her chuckling turned into full-blown laughter when the kitchen door swung open to reveal Sirius in his socks, his face wearing an incredulous look.

"you welded my laces together!" he accused.

She shrugged, "I was under a time constraint. It was all I could think of."

Sirius shook his head, and she noticed the same strange look in his eyes that he'd sported throughout the day.

Maybe things will never be the same, Ella sadly thought. Despite being quite pleased at how quickly their comradeship had returned, Ella kept noticing small changes in Ace. He was staring a bit more than usual and he kept adopting this strange look every time she became playful. Maybe he wasn't ready for things to return. Maybe our friendship really is wrecked.

Trying to keep the same lightheartedness going, Ella decided to ask the question she had been wondering all day. "Why didn't you go home with James?"

Instantly, Sirius's features lit up. "I heard of a secret passage that we haven't conquered yet and they're easier to find when the schools empty. " ,

"ANOTHER one?"

His smile increased and he nodded.

"Merlin's underpants, this school is barmy!"

His nodding continued.

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow night, fancy coming along?" He innocently asked, as if he didn't already know the answer.

She rolled her eyes.

"What do you think?"

" Are you sure? the castle can be quite scary at night with all those scary ghosts." His sentence ended with a mocking tone.

She hit him lightly, "honestly! i tell you ONE TIME that Myrtle scared me and you never let me forget it."

"I'll just never understand it. You don't scare easily and its Moaning Myrtle for christ's sake."

Ella figured Sirius wouldn't understand. It was her second year when she'd stupidly used the second floor girl's bathroom. She had just sat down on the toilet when a translucent head had popped up beneath her asking, "oh, hullo, What's your name?"

She had unceremoniously ran, screaming out of the bathroom with her knickers around her ankles. It had been quite some time until Ella could sit down on the lou without checking for inhabitants. Of course, Sirius didn't know the finer details, just the ghost and the running-away-screaming part.

"I'd give Myrtle more credit, the experience was...frightening. And don't be daft, of course i'm coming tomorrow."

He chuckled and once again she saw that foreign look in his eyes, "thought so."


They spent the next few hours in the kitchens drinking cocoa and nibbling on the sandwiches the house elfs made them. Ella felt like she had never laughed so much in her life. Her cheeks were starting to ache from the euphoria of the kitchens and their reunited friendship. They had already reminisced of countless pranks and stunts pulled throughout the years and Ella mused at how much mischief they'd already caused.

She could barely breathe when Sirius reminded her of the time Peter had put McGonagall (while in animagus form) in a cat carrier and they both altogether lost it at the time James accidentally charmed Dumbledore's beard bright blue.

"The...look... in Dumbledoor's eye.. And what.. he said...to James!" Sirius barely got out.

Ella clutched her side, fighting for air, "Mr. Potter, how did you know this was my favorite color of Acid-Pops?"

Their laughter died and eventually, they both longed for their beds. Just as they were leaving Ella head music began from deeper within the kitchens.

"Ain't it great to be crazy"

The song was quick and upbeat, but the voice still managed to be chillingly-beautiful. Ella glanced back to see two elfs clearing their plates and singing the tune. A third was sitting on a stool, next to a pile of linens, strumming on a makeshift guitar. Ella had heard whispers before of how the elfs sang late at night, while cleaning dishes. It was supposed to be a soothing activity for them, one they had picked up over the centuries to cope with unquestioning servitude. But no one, besides Dumbledore, was sure if the Hogwarts Elves still sang the tunes late at night.

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Ella felt honored that the elves felt comfortable enough to bestow such a gift. And a gift it was, as the one on the guitar, who Ella realized was her favorite Elf, Tank, winked at her and continued playing. Desperate not to waste such an opportunity, Ella grabbed Sirius's arm, just as he had one foot out the portrait hole and hauled him deeper into the kitchens.

"What are you-"

Ella shushed him, not wanting to miss a second of the song.

Happy and gay, all the day, Boom, Boom, ain't it great to be crazy!

They walked to an open space, where a wooden table had been pushed aside, and Ella turned to face him. Still holding his hands, throwing a quick smile toward him, she bagan to dance in place.

"Ella, honestly, do you know who I am?"

"A horse and a flea and three blind mice

Sat on a tombstone shooting dice"

"Your – um.. whats your name again?" she asked, feigning confusion.

"The horse he slipped and fell on the flea,

He narrowed his eyes, "very funny Trouble. You know I don't dance."

"Common' Ace, just move about a bit." She demonstrated a bit, still holding his hands. Playfully, swinging her hips from side to side, practically forcing movement from Sirius' own body.

"Oops! said the flea, there's a horse on me!"

Still refusing to dance, Sirius opted instead to watch her. He held her hand to keep her in balance as she danced. A smirk played on his face as he obviously thought she looked daft.

Ella remembered a dance move she had seen her parents do in a muggle film. It involved some type of shimmying as she bent her knees and swung her body from side to side.

Sirius' face conveyed how ridiculous she looked.

Wickedly, Ella thought, let's see how ridiculous he thinks this looks.

"AIN'T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Happy and gay, all the day, Boom, Boom, ain't it great to be crazy"

Still holding his hands, Ella spun herself 180 degrees, ducking under their tangled arms and put her back to his chest. Her arms formed an "x" over her chest as her right hand was clasped in his left and her left in his right.

There was an old doctor and his name was Peck.

Instantly, Ella realized this position was a bit more intimate than she had intended. Sirius is going to be so naffed.

She felt his warmth all around her and despite her height, she marveled at how much of him fit around her. Ella could only imagine the look of pure horror that most likely occupied his face at the moment. No doubt, he was two moments away from simply pushing her away or having a breakdown lecturing her on "proper fourth-year behavior."

Despite the on-coming meltdown, Ella found herself liking the feeling of being wrapped up in him. The night had been one of the best she'd had in years. It wasn't often they'd had time to just the two of them. Usually, one of the Mauraders or Lily intervened. She was surprised at how strongly happy she had become from their intimate night.

Intimate- HA. Ella scoffed at the word. Sirius no doubt still saw her as a little unattractive sister. No intimacy could be had for someone so blindly repulsed by a body as Sirius had been that day at Quidditch.

The thoughts made Ella feel a bit reckless. She decided to push the limits, if only to piss Ace off more.

Oh this should be fun, she thought as she backed herself further into his embrace. The heat he was producing earlier became a fire that scorched Ella from the middle of her calfs to the top of her shoulders. Every part of the back of her was touching his...front. She could feel his muscular chest and noticed that his shoulders were hunched, allowing him to bend over her, increasing the contact between the two.

Fell down the well and broke his neck

Served him right, he was doing wrong.

Detachedly, Ella noticed some particular advantages of her height. Her bum fit perfectly against Sirius's groin. And, slightly bent, his head was at such an advaantage that his breath tickled her throat. Ella bit back the groan she felt from being in such an intimate position. She was slightly horrified to feel herself rub and writhe against him. He flinched, no doubt furious, but did not push her away as Ella would have expected.

Should have tended to the sick, and let the well alone.

It's just dancing, Ella reminded herself. Despite how intimate this position was, she had been witness to her brother's dancing in such a manor at their Aunt Sally's wedding. Just some harmless muggle dancing.

She was trying to control her body's increasing reaction toward him and her own laughter at the horror he that was certainly on Sirius's face when she felt something…foreign. Ella froze, what. The bloody. Hell.

AIN'T IT GREAT TO BE CRAZY

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Sometime during intimate dance, Sirius had become…. Merlin's arse, he wanted her! Still held in the awkward embrace, Ella craned her neck, eyes no doubt comically wide, to gain any insight at what he was thinking.

When she'd turned she expected a furious or horrifyingly-embarrassed or even a "well, what-do-you-expect?" face. Instead, his eyes were hooded and his neck remained bent giving little space between their lips. He was giving her the look he had repeatedly had for the past few weeks, and in these circumstances Ella recognized it as desire.

Happy and gay, all the day,Boom, Boom, ain't it great to be crazy!

The music stopped but neither of them moved. Ella was shocked but thought when he inched closer toward her lips that he was about to kiss her. No rational thought left in her brain, the only thing Ella thought was- "finally."

She couldn't even question her own traitorous thoughts as he quickly untangled himself and stepped away from her. Ella stumbled, but managed to right herself before looking like any bigger of a git.

He laughed without any humor behind it. "Christ, you're trying to kill me," she heard him mutter under his breath.

He seemed to be going into full-blown panic because he instantly became fidgity, rubbing his hand throughout his black hair, making most pieces stick straight up.

"About that" he said, placing emphasis on the word by staring down.

"It's not about you-" he started.

"Excuse me?" Ella interrupted, offended.

"That's not what I-…" He stopped, clearly switching tactics. Lightly he laughed, "Well, what do you expect Ella? All that rubb…er dancing."

Ella narrowed her eyes. Usually, she'd have believed him. Three months ago, she was sure she would have believed it was just his body's reaction and not fault him at all. With four older brothers, Ella tended to think of a boy and their sex drives as two separate beings sharing a body. They didn't always agree and perhaps Sirius's had just had such an altercation.

But the past few weeks, at breakfast, across the common room, during quidditch practice, while playing wizards chess eariler and now today, after the seemingly harmless dance, that reocurring look had been desire. And that, was reason enough to believe that Sirius wasn't being honest.

Ella realized that the most damming evidence was his obvious attempt to not blink as he reasoned away his response. Sirus's eye's were opened, slightly large than before in the strain to not blink.

She had to control herself from narrowing her eyes or bursting into laughter from the gesture. What a git.

Once when they had been pissed off firewhisky Ella had "accidentally" told Sirius his "tell" was rapid blinking. Little did he know, she had drank butterbeer all night and had been lying through her teeth. Now, his attempts to stop blinking sometimes clued Ella in on when he was purposely hiding something.

Fine, Ella decided that if Sirius didn't want to discuss it, she would let him off the hook….for now.

Lightly, she winked at him, "No worries ace. Got to earn back my nickname somehow"

He let out a breath of relief.

"I'm going to stay here for a bit. But I'll meet you tomorrow in the common room at 11 p.m.?"

He nodded "see you then. "


Ella tossed and turned all night. When she woke she strolled the castle, sitting in her favourite spot within the hidden tapestry. Last night had been…informative. Ella knew something of significance had happened last night, but she wasn't sure what it bloody meant.

Ella may have less experience at snogging than Sirius, but she was quite positive she knew how to spot when a boy wanted her. And that moment, when Sirius was so close she could taste his breath, he had wanted her.

And the thought was completely shocking. Even after he'd apologized for their months-long row, Ella wasn't sure Sirius had stopped seeing her as that same ten year old. Apparently, the time had given him a new perspective. A completely unexpected perspective.

What did that mean?

Ella decided she'd need some answers before she faced him tonight. Remembering what Dumbledore had taught her in their private lessons, Ella tried clear her mind.

She sighed at the thought, missing how centered she felt after one of her lessons, which Dumbledore had been canceling more frequently recently.

Clearing one's mind was a diffiuclt task that she had honed over the years. Ella used the skill frequently to figure things out. She could practically still hear Dumbledore, from that first lesson in her second year, "A clear mind is a concentrated mind and concentration brings about answers."

A statement such as that was a particular belief of those who practice Occulemncy and Legilimency, the skill in which Dumbledore had been privately tutoring Ella in for years.

Every once in a while, Ella was still shocked that the headmaster had taken such an interest in her studies. And she couldn't even imagine why she had originally thought the headmaster to be a cold man who according to her father, "may be one Doxy short of a pet store."

At the time she hadn't even known of her ancient blood relation to one of the most skilled legilimens in history. Dumbledore, for that matter, also hadn't been aware until he'd seen Ella's half-hearted attempt at legilimency toward an obnoxious fifth year, Jack Tate.

Tate had been teasing her about her large teeth and since he had no physical flaws himself, Ella tried to find some emotional ones. She had read the spell legilimens in a dusty book of her mother's. The spell had been labeled, "to navigate ones mind, to gain insight where others cannot." Ella had foolishly remembered the spell, thinking that she could use it one day to find ammo tease her brother Roy with.

Curiously, the spell had popped into her mind when she'd been furious with Tate. However, the spell had given no insight, just flashes of orange and a splitting headache. Dumbledore had happened to be walking by as she had preformed the spell and despite her failure, was quite impressed.

The following week he had owled her, setting up weekly lessons to practice the skill and declared that, "she had a natural talent for navigating the mind."

Both Dumbledore and herself were unaware that her raw talent was fueled by her bloodline, until some digging connected her mother's ancestry with Ignatia Wildsmith. And despite Floo Powder being Ignatia's ticket to fame, the witch was also the most powerful legimens in history. In fact, when she'd created Floo powder, rumors flew that she'd stolen the idea right out of Merwyn the Malicious's mind. Her legilimens skills were so strong that she could wandlessly and wordlessly invade anyone's mind, no matter how strong their occlumencies were.

Perhaps Ignatia's greatest accomplishment, however, was never letting other's record any mention of her power. Only her bloodline and the memories of others kept the whispers alive about the raw talent traveling through her line. Ella's own family had forgotten such a power could even exsist, since no one before her had shown signs of the valuable skill.

It wasn't until Dumbledore found mention in one of her great-great grandmother's journals and crossed it with his own knowledge, that they realized the connection.

Since her second year, legilimens had become a huge part of Ella's life. She swore to Dumbledore to use the power wisely, and Ella rarely used it outside of his office. Besides the splitting headaches she still received, public knowledge of her skill could be dangerous, if not lethal. So, Ella kept that part of herself, hidden away, not even able to tell her best mates of her weekly lessons. And over the years, she had become fairly good at sneaking away for an hour every Tuesday night with no one the wiser.

Ella shook away all thoughts of her skill, and demanded her mind stay silent.

What does this mean?

Sirius wanted her last night. Had she wanted him?

Sure, Ella would have to be completely dead to not have noticed Sirius's good looks. He was taller than James, about 6'2 and built more broadly than his friend. His dimples had their own fan clubs and were practically Hogwarts legends on their own. And his thick short-disarrayed black curls had made loads of girls weak in the knees.

But she had never thought more past that initial attraction. Sure, he was fit. But Ella didn't have journals with his initials scrawled in them or locks of his hair, like that Penelope girl did.

He had always just been Ace, her blindingly gorgeous, exceedingly-arrogant best mate. Throughout their friendship Ella had made it her personal mission to keep his already oversized head from growing. And a job like that didn't leave room for her to drool over him.

Sirius was playful, frighteningly smart, witty, protective, and loyal. But most importantly, Sirius could keep up with her. Something that was serious hard to find. And he was the one person Ella felt most connected to. She remembered the way his body felt behind hers. How his breath on her neck had made her shiver. She had felt safe in his embrace, something she expected from their years of companionship. But she had also felt electrified, like moving one inch could start a fire purely from the friction between them.

Yea, Ella decided, she had wanted him.

So Sirius had wanted her. And she had wanted him. What does that mean?

Was the desire Ella saw just a momentary lapse? Or was it something more, something significant. Could she intertwine her attraction to him with their friendship? Would snogging him be like snogging Scott, her brother closest to Sirius's age? No, she decided, Sirius and Ella had always had a teasing edge to their friendship, one that came without brotherly feelings- at least for Ella.

So what did that mean? Did she...fancy him or something?

Ella wasn't sure. Attraction and comfort and desire were one thing, but dating Sirius? The thought was practically laughable. Just because he was attracted to her didn't mean he fancied her. Did it? And if he did, did she?

Ella had absolutely no idea and no way to answer the question. She thought of bringing the issue up to Sirius, and immediately knew he'd just lie again. Ella wasn't one to tip-toe around an issue. She needed action. A way to prove to him and herself that something was going on. And once that was proved, they could figure out the emotional stuff, together, later-on...if they even wanted to.


Ella entered the common room at 11 p.m. sharp to find a contemplative Sirius staring at the fire.

"Wotcher Ace."

He turned, his smile not meeting his eyes. "Trouble," he nodded, "Ready to make Hogwarts history?"

You have no idea mate. "Sure am."

They walked out the portrait hole, in complete silence. The castle was empty and Ella marveled at how large it looked without the hundreds of bodies. Sirius led her to the fourth-floor corridor where the statute of the one-eyed witch stood. They stopped in front of the marble, both staring up at the statute.

She chuckled, "I always thought this was of a three-headed dog."

He also laughed, no doubt noticing how ugly this particular witch was.

"How did you hear about this one?"

Sirius smiled, "Filch caught me sneaking back from the kitchens with food last month. He figured that we'd been finding secret passages last year and finally told Dumbldore his suspicions two weeks ago."

Sirius's eyebrows sunk into his eyes and he sucked in his cheeks, to look guant, as he lowered his voice. "Those hoolagins are trying to conquer the school, Dumbledore! There no good, the entire lot of 'em!"

He fixed his face into a smile, "I was walking behind the pair. Dumbledore said to change the passwords of each of the passages and mentioned to change to one-eyed witch passcode, since it was of the upmost importance."

Ella looked at Sirius incredulously, "And Dumbledore just happened to mention this loud enough for you to hear?"

He smirked. "I may have been wearing a certain blokes invisibility cloak at the time."

She chuckled and nodded.

"So how does it open?"

"I've absolutely no idea."

At that, Sirius set to work, muttering different unlocking charms with flicks of his wand. His hair was perfectly disarrayed and Ella noticed how every few minutes, his eyes turned skyward, as if he was trying to remember every unlocking charm he'd learned.

When he'd remember another jinx, his eye's lit with excitement and determination as he tried to crack the passage.

Ella smiled at his determination. Sirius loved a challenge. Good, she thought, so do I.

Immediately, Ella joined him, using all of her acquired knowledge to open the one-eyed witch.

However, after thirty minutes of failed attempts, they both felt a bit desperate for the answer.

The caw of a crow was heard throughout the corridor and Sirius and Ella scrambled to get under the invisibility cloak as Cathers, Filch's hideous pet crow searched for bodies out of bed. The crow continued on, soaring past the pair who were hidden intimately close under the cloak.

Ella remarked at how difficult the cloak was now that they had both grown a foot since first year. Her face was hidden in the crook of Sirius's neck and his arms were wrapped around her as they crouched against the stone wall. The top of his trainers were barely covered by the shimmering material.

Ella heard Filch's unmistakable voice muttering, "bloody bird," down the hallway as an idea started to form. It was her skill after all. And she had never used it for such a novel matter, before. Would Dumbledore honestly care if she aided Sirius open a passage? Ella knew Dumbledore fairly well, from her private lessons, and one fact she'd acquired was that he knew when they used the cloak in his presence. No doubt, he'd known Sirius was behind Filch and himself when speaking of the passage, and yet he still gave the knowledge.

Sod it, Ella decided, I've got other things to figure out tonight besides this bloody passage. Just as Filch's boots were heard stomping in the opposite direction Sirius pulled the cloak off them.

"that was close," he mumbled in a strained voice.

They had had much closer calls in the past, and Ella wondered if he meant their proximity rather than the run-in with Filch.

"Im going to check down this corridor for something, maybe there's a clue or...something."

Sirius shrugged, "Just don't get caught that's the direction Filch went."

She nodded and crept down the corridor, looking for the young caretaker.

A few turns down, she peeked around a corner to see him picking up a fallen suit of armor. "Bloody Peeves. Like ta' hang him in the dungeon by his thumbs, i would."

Ella rolled her eyes and drew her wand. Silently with a swish and flick, she strongly thought, Legilimens.

The squibs thoughts were dreary and Ella cringed as she was forced to peal back a layer to the dark place he kept his knowledge of Hogwarts secrets. Ella shudered at the act. She always thought of Legilimens as wading through a thick swamp, reaching into the slime to find and pry open crusty jars.

Unbeknownst to many, secrets and fears were guarded by a filmy-oozing substance- the minds natural protection from reliving certain events. Ella decided to ignore Filch's terror of the giant squid and peeled away the gunky cover over the information Filch kept on passages. Her mind felt soiled as she waded through his information, pausing curiously about the "something of requirement," and moving on to the mishapen one-eyed witch. Ella saw Filch's conversation with Dumbledore about changing the password and lifted further to see his knowledge of how to open the passage. As soon as she obtained it, Ella gently eased out of his mind, hoping to Merlin he hadn't felt the invasion.

She was instantly taken to her knees by a splitting pain in her head. She stayed crouched down for a few minutes until the pounding became the usual dull throb. Silently, she turned and tip-toed back toward the statute. When she rounded the corner she casually strolled up to Sirius, who was leaning his back against the witch's left leg.

He looked expectantly at her, "Figure anything out?"

She strolled up to him, entirely too close for a proper answer. Watching as his eyes widened but he didn't move away from her.

"I think so..." she murmured as she stood, her mouth inches from his own. She lifted her arm over his shoulder, edging her body closer to him.

His back pushed further against the stone statute and Ella once again saw his hooded look of desire.

Her arm made contact with the stone, trapping his body beneath her, and as she leaned closer toward him, his breath hitched.


Sirius felt his body freeze as she leaned in further toward him. She was so close to him, there was no way she meant to be friendly in this position. Her right arm sought the stone behind him, her body was practically touching his own and her eyes were focused on his lips. Sirius stood in place, too afraid to move. Behind his left shoulder he heard a click and felt the statute shift, jostling them both away.

He turned to see a mouth open in place of where the witch's hump used to be.

he turned to Ella, shocked, "how did you...?"

She shrugged and smiled, "magic."


What the bloody hell was that! Now that the shock had worn off, Sirius was furious with himself. Honestly, what had he been thinking. He should have pushed her away last night, before things got...escalated. Or at least came up with a decent outrage for her to believe his snub.

And even worse, Sirius had made a git of himself again tonight. He had seen that look in her eyes as she leaned toward him! There had been attraction and bloody hell, there had been desire. But most of all Sirius recognized the daft girl's primary look, she had been challenging him. Testing him to push her away, taunting him for his reaction to her. And Sirius had failed miserably. Bloody Hippogriff, he should have pushed her off. Should have told her that she had imagined how much he'd wanted her last night, that there was nothing between them. But after they'd found the passage, and they'd explored five minutes in the tunnel, Sirius had been ready for a whole bottle of firewhiskey. The entire time in the darkness, she had stood too close to him, practically hovered over him, tickling his neck with her breath or lingering touches across his back and arms.

He had made up some excuse about a forgotten potions exam due the next day and exclaimed that they needed to get back to the common room. She had stared strangely at him, but said nothing else. It wasn't until they got back, as she sasheyed her hips on her way up the stair that she'd called back to him.

"good luck with that potions work, Ace."

Too late, he realized she was mocking him and he remembered they were on holiday. Sirius groaned audibly as he watched her slowly climb the stairs, throwing a smirk his way. He had been so distracted, he even forgot to ask her how she'd managed to open the passge. Sirius felt like a total prat, but couldn't help the lust that surged within him at the image of her hips as she took the stairs, one step at a time. He threw himself in the lush red-leather chair and ran his hands through his disarrayed hair, bloody fucking hell, those hips are weapons of mass destruction.