Chapter 10

I

My alarm clock woke me up, something which rarely happens. As you've probably noticed, I wake up earlier than the others. A bad habit, I guess. I got up and shut the clock off. I grabbed my towel which was placed on my trunk and entered the bathroom. As I brushed my teeth, I heard Lily and Alice wake up. I remembered that our first lesson was Potions and I groaned and rolled my eyes. Slughorn just loved to talk. I guess Lily heard my groan because she knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Potions." I muttered after spitting the toothpaste. Lily chuckled and closed the door. I washed my face and exited the bathroom. I wore the school uniform, and Merlin, did I hate that stupid tie!

After we got dressed, we left the room to eat breakfast. As we strode the corridors, I caught a glimpse of Frank, Alice's boyfriend, running up to her. They shared a kiss and held hands. At another corner, James and Sirius caught sight of us and joined us on our way to the Great Hall.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" Sirius asked me.

"Like a baby. How about you?"

He shrugged and answered "Like every other night after a full moon. Remus will be out of the Hospital Wing this afternoon." At this time, we arrived at the hall.

"That's good. For some reason, I don't see Slughorn." I said while scanning the room for the chubby professor.

"You won't see him today; he's ill." James informed.

"So what, we don't have Potions?" I asked, hopeful that the lesson was cancelled.

"No, Miss Osbourne, a substitute teacher will replace Professor Slughorn." I heard McGonagall say, crushing the slightest hope I had. I turned around to face her and grimaced slightly.

The professor walked away and I mumbled "She scares me sometimes."

Sirius and James chuckled.

"Let's just eat and head to class." Lily ushered us. I bet she was interested to know who the teacher is.

"Alright, Lil. Don't get your wand in a knot." Alice grumbled, and I laughed. I never heard her talk like this. Breakfast was delicious, as usual. I noticed that Fletcher wasn't looking at me; she was probably scared out of her wits. Annoying little bitch.

As I wiped my mouth with a napkin, I caught Sirius looking at me. He gave me a quick smile and went back to stuffing his mouth. I felt queasy and my stomach hurt. It's something that the muggles call "butterflies". Oh Merlin, help me. I felt someone's hand on my arm. I looked to see whose hand it was. Alice. She gave me a questioning look and I shook my head.

As we entered the classroom, Lily stopped me.

"Would you mind if I sat with James?" She gave me a pleading look. How could I say no to the lovebirds?

"Thanks, Viv, you're the best!" She smiled and gave me a swift hug. She then left to sit with James.

"So, it's just you and me, huh?" I heard Sirius, who was nearby, say to me loudly.

I shrugged and said "I figured I'd let them sit together."

"You're such a softie, Viv."

"Don't push it."

We found a free spot behind James and Lily, and sat there. A young professor with honey colored eyes and bright red hair entered.

"Good morning, I'm Professor Hillard and I'm substituting for Professor Slughorn today." She said in a chirpy voice. I bet she was a Ravenclaw.

"I don't know where you've stopped, so this lesson will be a review lesson." She added before pulling out a small bottle with clear liquid.

"I just brewed it this morning. Who can come and say what this is?" As she asked this, Lily's hand rose straight up. What a surprise. I've got to hand it to her – she is brilliant in Potions. Hillard pulled out a cauldron with the same potion and let Lily smell it.

"It's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in existence. However, it doesn't create actual love, but a strong infatuation." Lily stated.

"Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor!" Hillard exclaimed.

"May I ask what did you smell, Miss - ?"

"Evans, Professor Hillard. I smelled leather, grass, and aftershave." Lily said as her face reddened.

"Thank you, Miss Evans. You may return to your seat. As she said, and rightfully so, this potion creates a powerful feeling of obsession. You have an hour to complete it. The books are in the cabinet and the instructions are on page 7. Good luck." Hillard said.

Sirius got the cauldron and I fetched the book and opened it to page 7. As we got working, we saw the others working feverishly on the potion.

"Nerds." I chortled. Sirius snickered and nodded his head.

"I bet you'd smell Rosmerta in the potion." I spluttered out of the blue while cutting things for the potion.

"I did in the past. I'm sure I'll smell other things now." He said, not taking his eyes from me. The way he said it made me blush a bit.

What's wrong with me? Keep it together, Viv.

"I'd probably smell your hair and roses. What do you reckon you'll smell?" He was curious.

"I'm not sure. I never smelled it before." I said honestly. Sirius noticed we forgot something for our potion and went to get it. My eyes watched him closely. I noticed his somewhat broad shoulders and narrow figure. My eyes landed on his backside. Crap. I was too busy looking at him to notice Lily and Alice laughing hysterically at me.

"VIV!" James' voiced boomed in the room. The whole class was staring at me, who was staring at Sirius, who turned back and looked at me. Shit, he knows I was staring.

"What're you looking at? I'm not a circus act!" I bellowed. The rest of the students resumed working on the potion, and I glared at James, who smiled sheepishly at me. Lily smiled at me and mouthed "Later." Sirius came back with the last ingredient we forgot.

"Staring, are we?" I could practically hear him smirking. I lowered my head in embarrassment and I was also busy chopping other ingredients.

"No. Now shut up and work on the blasted potion." I muttered. I heard him chuckle and place something in the cauldron.

An hour went by quickly, and Hillard examined our cauldrons. Obviously James and Lily's was the best out of the class. Now the embarrassing part…Hillard chose some students and wanted them to share what they smell.

Guess who was chosen? Yours truly.

It was my turn. I took a whiff and want to lie about it. Sirius cried out "Don't lie, Viv!" He knew me. I glared at him and smelled it again. Pretty alluring, alright. It can snare your senses. No wonder this thing is powerful.

I couldn't find the words to express what I smelled. It seemed like forever before I could utter a sound. But eventually I did.

"Cologne, a wet dog and roses." I said before scramming to my seat.

"What an interesting combination. Well, that's all for today, thank you." Hillard ended the lesson and the students packed their things. I crossed my legs and just stayed rooted to my seat as Sirius sat beside me, not removing my eyes from me. The others approached us.

"We'll join you later." Sirius assured them. They figured out the situation quickly and soon we were alone in the classroom. My hands held the seat in anxiety. These kinds of situations made me nervous.

"Let's talk about it." He said softly.

"Why?" I looked at him. I could get lost in those gorgeous eyes.

"You smelled cologne, a wet dog and roses. Don't those smells ring a bell?" He asked.

I remained silent. He sighed.

"I know you fancy me, so stop the act. I won't hurt you or use you. We've talked about this before, but I can't keep up with the act. We fancy each other and we can't be together because you can't trust me."

Christ, he knew me too well.

"I never said I don't trust you." I said while placing my hands on my lap.

"You don't let yourself take risks ever since that Alan prick. We all get hurt, but that's life. You smelled me, Vivian."

That last part made me snap. "First of all, don't call me that. Secondly, so what if I smelled you? Wait, but what does the dog have to do with it?"

"I am the black dog you've been seeing recently."

My eyes widened in shock. That's why the dog was familiar. That's why the dog got angry at Duncan.

"What the-? How? Why?" I stuttered.

"I talked to Remus, and he agreed that I should tell you. James, Peter and I are illegal animagi a few years now. We did this to help Remus during his transformations."

"I'm impressed. That's true friendship and loyalty." I praised him. This new piece of information made me appreciate him even more.

"Yeah. It's not easy, but I'd do anything for people I care about." He said, staring deep into my eyes. He's like forbidden candy; he's something I want but can't have.

He moved a piece of my hair behind my left ear, and I shuddered slightly. I looked down at his bottom lip, which he bit slightly. I did something that I would never regret. I grabbed hold of his face and kissed him straight on the lips. The kiss was incredible. After I placed my lips on his, I pulled away to see a surprised look on his face. He removed my hair tie, grabbed my hair to pull me closer to him, and kissed me passionately. We were snogging like mad, like we've never snogged before.

Unfortunately, I came to my senses and stopped abruptly. We panted and I could sense the room getting warmer by the minute. I hope he doesn't think I'm a slut. I noticed that the first button of my blouse was unbuttoned.

"Mr. Black, were you trying to seduce me?" I asked hoarsely, point to my open button.

"I believe you initiated the seduction, Ms. Osborne." He said huskily. Damn him and his sexy, husky voice.

I shook my head. How could I get this careless again? First with Alan, now with Sirius.

"I've got to go."

II

"And then I ran for it, before he could call my name." Alice, Lily and I were sitting in our room. Thankfully we were alone, so I told them what happened after Potions.

"You kissed him? You?" Alice asked, obviously shocked.

"I never thought I'd see the day." Lily blurted out.

"It was amazing! I've never been kissed like that before." I sighed happily. Oh, who am I kidding? The 'sexy time' would definitely ruin our friendship.

"So what's the problem?" Alice wondered, even though she knows.

I gave her a look which made Lily snap at me. "Let go! You can be so stiff sometimes, Viv. I mean, look at me. I haven't given James the time of day, but he changed and I lowered my guard. I understand where you're coming from, but no one can live without getting hurt. I wish Alan to be miserable, but you can't be miserable too. Get that through your thick skull and snog Sirius senseless."

I sat on my bed for the longest time, in utter silence, letting Lily's speech sink in. My head is too stubborn, but my heart says something different. Try. Tell him what happened with Alan. Show him that you can trust him. I want to see him.

I suddenly got off my bed and told Lily. "I need to go." Before she could say anything, I ran to the door, opened it, and closed it quickly behind me. I ran down the stairs and looked around the common room, searching for Sirius. I saw Remus playing chess with Pettigrew.

"Remus, have you seen Sirius?" I asked.

He looked up at me and I noticed a curious glint in his eyes. Does he know?

"Yes, he's in his room." I thanked him quickly and ran up to Sirius's room.

It was the third room on the right. I knocked first, but didn't hear anyone. I pushed the door wide open to reveal Sirius only in his boxers, talking to James.

"Merlin, Viv! Ever heard of knocking?!" Sirius shouted before quickly grabbing his trousers. James snorted in laughter. I must say, Sirius's shoulder blades were slightly bulky and he has chest hair.

Oh wow.

"I knocked. It's not my fault you're bloody deaf." I retorted.

After he buttoned his jeans, he asked "What can I do for you?"

"Can I talk to you?"

James understood that I wanted to talk to him alone, and said "I'll see how Lily is doing.", and let the room.

For some reason, Sirius didn't bother to put a shirt on. And frankly, I couldn't care less. I was too troubled with how to share my deepest secret.

"What's wrong, Viv?" He walked closer to me.

"I had strong feelings for Alan, as you know. I trusted him more than anyone, until he ruined it. It was at a party the Ravenclaws threw last year when he got carried away. We were very passionate, you see, and I wasn't quite ready for the next step. At a certain point I was dancing with a friend, and then he came and grabbed my arm. He dragged me to his room and started shouting at me for being a tease."

"Please go on." He requested.

"We had a terrible fight, and I don't remember what I said, but after that, he slapped me and ordered me to shut up and lay down on his bed. I was terrified of him; I knew he drank that night, but didn't think how cruel he could be. I did what he said, and he…" I choked, while fighting my tears.

"What did he do, Viv?" I could hear the anger build up in his voice.

"He tried to rape me, Sirius."