Disclaimer: I was not affiliated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Studios, or Scholastic publications in any of the last chapters, so logically I am not affiliated with any of them now. That means that I do not, have not, and will not own Harry Potter. Heartbreaking, isn't it?

Chapter Ten

"Wake up you lazy slut! It's Thanksgiving!" I gave a non-committal grunt, and rolled over onto my stomach, pressing my pillow over my head, letting the thick layer of down shut out Adriana's voice.

It was a tradition of ours to get up early on Thanksgiving (which, after six years I know very little about) and go to the kitchen to make the traditional Thanksgiving fare. Of course, the house elves refused to help us, so we always ended up watching them make a mouthwatering Turkey, while we broke our backs eating cookies and drinking tea. When we were to sugar-hyped to sit still anymore, we'd retire to the dormitory, and do girly things like paint our toes and put outrageous makeup on each other.

Ten seconds later, my deliciously warm comforter was yanked away, leaving me shivering in girl boxers and a camisole.

"You crazy American bitch." I muttered, rolling off the bed and landing on the hard floor with a thump. "Ow."

"You asked for that one." She was standing over me, fully dressed, looking rather smug. I Pulled myself up, and fished some Muggle clothes out of my trunk. I was celebrating a Muggle holiday; I might as well get in the spirit.

Clad in jeans and a black sweatshirt, I followed Adriana out of the dorm, through the common room, and halfway to the kitchens, where I pretended to have forgotten my glasses.

"You just realized that?" Adriana asked, choosing to forget that she hadn't noticed.

"Yes. I'm a little out of it, 'cause I got forced out of my bed at seven in the morning by a crazy bitch, to celebrate a foreign holiday I know almost nothing about."

"Fine, fine. But I'm not waiting for you." She turned, and continued on down the steps.

I turned, and sprinted up them. I was quite far away from the room of requirement, and I was starting to wonder what, "first thing in the morning" meant to teenage boys.

Apparently, it meant seven thirty to Sirius. When I opened the door, I was surprised to find myself in the room I always practiced in. Sirius was alone, at the far side of the room. He sat at the piano bench, prodding experimentally at the keys. I slid onto the bench, sitting next to him.

"Morning, Sirius."

"Hello, Kitten." He raised an eyebrow at my outfit. "The Muggle convention in town?"

"No, but today's a Muggle-American holiday that Adriana and I are celebrating."

"I see.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"They wanted to sleep in."

"Smart of them."

"Is this too early?" He let his hands drop from the row of keys into his lap. I moved my hands up to the keyboard, playing a simple melody I knew.

"No, Adriana got me up anyways. What is this you're explaining about?" I had been puzzling it for the last twenty-four hours.

"Oh, right. Well, as you already know, Remus is a werewolf, a fact James, Peter, and me discovered in third year. Of course, being loyal, noble, friendly, helpful-"

"Boy scouts?"

"No. Being the overall good people we are, we decided to help him. I'm sure you've seen the scars on his arms? Self inflicted." Sirius 'tsk'ed. "The life of a werewolf is a painful one. Of course, us meddling gits decided to butt in and ruin Remus's fun every month when the full moon rolled around."

"You have me interested." It was true.

"So, we put our heads together, and tried to formulate a way so that we could hang with wolf-Remus. We did a bit of research, and discovered that werewolf bites have no effect on animals whatsoever. So, we made ourselves animals."

My eyes widened. "Your and animagus? Do you have any idea how dangerous-"

He waved away my budding rant. "Of course we do. It's quite complicated. Took us 'til fourth year to figure it out."

I bit my lip in worry; animagus risked a lot. Not only was it dangerous, it was also illegal from the to be unregistered, which I was sure they were. Oh well. Spirit of the law against the letter of the law. I chose to forget that they were defying both. "So this is were the nicknames come from? The Moony, Wormatil, Padfoot, and Prongs?"

"Yup."

"What do you all turn into?"

"Remus, is a werewolf, obviously, Peter is a rat; Wormtail, and James, Prongs, is a stag."

"And you?"

I let my hands fell limp on the keys, causing a cacophonous jumble of notes to sound jarringly.

"Can I ask you something before I tell you?" I looked suspiciously at him.

"Yes. I won't count that one."

"Thanks. Will you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

"Sure." I replied with a grin, before my brain kicked in. I kept my grin plastered to my face, while inside, I panicked. I had just given Sirius Black the power to break my heart. What if he didn't like me? What if I stopped liking him? What if-

I came back to reality when he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. Drowning myself in his wonderful, boyish smell (laundry detergent, with a faint trace of a sweet cologne), I kicked all my 'what ifs' out of my head. Being asked out by the guy you have a crush on; it's never a bad thing. I relaxed in his warm, soft embrace, and reached up to wrap my arms around his neck, and lay my head on his chest.

"Sirius?"

He pulled back, sliding his hands up my arms to rest on my upper arms. His touch sent shivers up and down my spine. "Yes, Kitten?"

"What animal do you change into?"

He sighed, and looked down. I could have sworn he blushed a bit. "Let me show you." He rose, and moved away from the piano; I turned to watch him, as he gave me a 'don't kill me' look, and transformed.

I was always amazed by animagus transformations. I had only seen a handful, done mostly by Professor McGonnagal, and they fascinated me. It was like one of those flip books that kids played with, flipping through the pages to form an animation.

When the process was complete, a large, bear-like dog sat in front of me. He had Sirius's shaggy hair, and gray eyes, and had his head cocked to the side, as if waiting for permission. I reached my head out to scratch his ears, and he licked my palm. I giggled, not something I do often.

He began to change back, and I drew away, startled. A moment later, Sirius was back in front of me, sitting on the floor. By chance I happened to glance at my watch.

"Shit!" I muttered, hurriedly standing up, and making for the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, concern etched on his face.

"I told Adriana I had just ran up to get my glasses, it's been half an hour! Shit…" I twisted the knob on the door, and paused. Then I doubled back, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss Sirius's cheek.

He laughed. "You're not used to this girlfriend thing, are you?"

I flushed. "Not really. I'll see you at dinner."

He nodded. "Oh, one more thing." I turned back, halfway out the door. "Don't tell anyone yet."

If it were anyone but Sirius I would have been hurt, thinking that they didn't really like me, they were just using me. But I figured, or hoped, that Sirius had some prank in mind. I nodded, and fluttered my fingers in farewell.

"Where in Merlin's name have you been?" Adriana demanded, as I waded through a sea of clamoring house elves.

"Very Muggle of you, Adri." I purposefully changed the subject.

"What took you so long? You were just getting your glasses!"

"My something does smell good in here."

"What in heaven's name took so long?"

"Oooh, you invited Lily and Abby. Excellent idea."

"Why are you so happy?" She looked at me suspiciously.

"Why can't I be happy?"

"You were quite bitchy this morning."

"Indeed. Being woken up at a very early hour can do that to a person."

Adriana raised a hand to stop me. I halted, as she walked around me, giving me a thorough examination. She stopped before me, and observed my face for a moment or two, before announcing, "You're in love."

My mouth twitched. "Why would you say that?"

"Flushed cheeks, shinning eyes, cheerful disposition; any small child could have figured it out."

"If I admit that I'm in love, will you let me sit down?"

"Not until I find out who with."

"Screw you."

I sat down anyway, smiling cheerfully at Lily and Abby's raised eyebrows.

Author's Note: I have some very IMPORTANT news for all of my readers. I am taking a short leave of absence. I have excuses.

Firstly, school is coming up. That however is the least of my worries.

Secondly, I have a big audition coming up. It's rather nerve-wracking.

Thirdly, I have two friends, which are leaning on me at the moment. I won't be so arrogant as to think that I'm the only one they're leaning on, but it is a stressful time at the moment. One of them is going through a messy divorce, one that makes most divorces seem like happy picnics. The other has a father who had multiple tumors in his head and abdominal region.

So, if you would all be so very stellar as to help me through this by giving me two weeks in which to write chapter eleven, I would me forever grateful. I know this is a short chapter, but the next one will be at least three thousand words. Cross my heart.

With much love,

Salvation ala mode.