"Millie! Do you know what you're wearing?" asked Lily.

"Um… clothes?" I answered tentatively. What else was I going to wear, a hessian sack?

"Aren't you putting any thought into this?"

"No. Am I supposed to?"

"Well, yeah. Isn't this your first real date with Sirius?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then why aren't you caring more about this?"

I was about to retort that the last thing I was going to do was care about what I wore for Sirius, before realising that if this was a real date with a guy I actually wanted to go out with, I probably would be giving a shit. Instead, I said, "Never mind me, what are you wearing?"

"I don't know! I want to make an effort, but I don't want to look like I made an effort. I don't want him thinking that I actually like him!"

"But you do. Isn't that why you agreed to this?"

"No! I agreed to this because you promised me that we'd double date!"

"No… double dating had nothing to do with this. You agreed to the double date because you're sort of scared of what you're feeling. You agreed to go to Hogsmeade with James because you like him."

"Wow Millie," said Sarah. I thought she'd still been sleeping like I would have been if I hadn't been trying to calm Lily, but it seemed that she'd been awake almost the whole time. "That was quite an astute observation. I'm impressed."

"Well, it happens sometimes."

"How could you just leave me with those two and escape all on your own?" A few hours later, I found myself behind the Three Broomsticks with Black pouting at me.

"Stop pouting Black, it isn't becoming," I chided.

"But you abandoned me!"

"That's not a reason to pout! And you're a big boy, I had full faith in your abilities to look after yourself."

"But you left me with those two as an awkward third wheel!"

"New experiences broaden the mind," I said as I began walking down the alley, heading back to the Main Street.

"How did you get out by the way?" he asked as he fell into step beside me, I was vaguely annoyed to note.

I shrugged, "Climbed out of the girls' bathroom window."

He seemed impressed. "Nice thinking."

"How did you get out?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

So we walked towards the main road again in surprisingly comfortable silence. "So… where do you want to go?" asked Sirius casually.

"What?" I asked, perhaps a little too sharply by the look on his face.

"This is still a date, you know."

"Oh. Right. How could I forget?"

He had the nerve to smirk. "So where do you want to go?"

I shrugged. "Anywhere that has good coffee. And isn't Puddifoot's."

"You drink coffee?"

"I'm half European. Of course I drink coffee."

"Why all the hate for Puddifoot's?" asked Sirius. We were in a little café which was off the beaten track a little. It was a little rough around the edges, but it somehow added to its charm. And it probably had the best coffee in a fifty mile radius. Come to think of it, it might be the only place to stock coffee in a fifty mile radius.

"Have you ever been there?" I asked. "It's like someone vomited all of their pink vomit all over the place!"

"Charming visual, White, but yes, you might have a point. It isn't very subtle is it?"

"But it isn't as if you go there for subtlety, is it?"

He gave a small smile. Not a smirk, but an actual smile, I was surprised to note. "Then what do you go there for?"

"As a general rule, I don't go there. You might be in a better position to tell me what people go there for."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Come off it! How many girls have you trapped in there with your charming ways and handsome looks?"

"You think I'm handsome?" I knew he couldn't keep from smirking.

"It was more a figure of speech."

"But you still think I'm handsome?"

I studied him for a moment. Did I think he was handsome? "I suppose… you're easy on the eyes… you could say."

"Easy on the eyes? You're a hard one to please, aren't you?"

"Very hard. But you still haven't answered my question. How many girls have you taken to Puddifoot's, or are there too many to count?" I teased. Merlin, it was almost as if I was flirting with him.

He took a sip of his coffee. "Well… there hasn't been that many…"

"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't be that many," I said thoughtfully. "I suppose you don't stay together for that long." As soon as I'd said it, I knew it was too harsh. And things had been going so well! We were having a civil conversation, Sirius was actually being decent for a change and the coffee was really nice, but no! I had to go and stuff it up. There are reasons why I don't talk much.

"You know Millie, I don't get you at all. You're just as bad as me! I'd like to hear about one relationship that you've been able to hold down for more than a month."

"Been doing our research, have we?" The atmosphere had changed dramatically. There was something darker and more sinister about it, barely hidden under the layer of false sweetness that tinged our tones.

"I thought it might be useful to know a little bit about my girlfriend, yes."

"Isn't that part of the fun? Finding out about each other as we go along?"

"Maybe, if this was an actual relationship."

"This wasn't my idea, Black. Let me remind you of that."

"I remember perfectly well White. But if this is going to work, you'll have to remember why you signed up for this."

"I did not sign up! I was press-ganged!"

"Yes, you signed up. To get away from a relationship, if I recall correctly. Just like me."

I glared at him, fuming, but didn't say anything. What could I say? I really couldn't deny the truth. And the truth was that Sirius Black and I were alike in more ways than I cared to admit.