A/N: Thanks for your wonderful reviews, i forgot how addictive they are and how nice and encouraging you can all be! Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 10: Lindley

You know, I've read about the word elation in novels but I'd never felt that feeling of joy so intensely as I did on Monday morning when Jess and I came down the stairs to go to breakfast. James Potter was sitting alone in an armchair doodling in a notebook. His friends weren't in sight but he seemed to be waiting for someone. He glanced up and smiled brightly as Jess and I walked down to the common room.

"Morning girls," he said happily, standing up to greet us.

"Hello James," Jessica said, glancing at me excitedly.

"Hi," I said shyly with a little wave. What was it about him that made me so immensely nervous?

"Mind if I join you for breakfast?" he asked casually, his eyes on my face.

I felt myself blush as I nodded. And there was that feeling of elation. He waited…to have breakfast with me. Me.

"Well…that works out then, doesn't it Linds?" Jess said with a smile as the three of us headed to the portrait hole.

"Why's that?" James asked curiously.

"Oh, I was going to sit with Derrick Peters this morning and Lindley doesn't much like his mates," she explained.

"Yeah well they are Hufflepuffs," he joked with a smile. "No offense. Bad history with some of those lot."

"Derrick is really nice though, Jess," I assured her, knowing he'd meant Samantha Morgan.

James nodded. "Oh sure, he's great," he agreed eagerly making us all laugh. "Well, we can just sit with my friends then. I think they're already in the Great Hall."

"Brilliant," Jess said nudging me with her elbow. "Well I'll see you lot in Potions…and I hope I'll be seeing more of you James," she said winking at me discreetly.

He smiled. "I'm sure you will Jessica."

She stopped at the Hufflepuff table to sit with Derrick who greeted me cheerily and nodded at James. James and I then walked in comfortable silence to the Gryffindor table where Sirius, Remus and Peter were seated.

"Alright Lindley?" Remus said, sliding down the bench a little to make room for James and I.

"Morning," I said cheerfully, picking up some toast.

"You two look cosy," Peter teased making me blush.

"Shut up Petey," James said with an easy laugh as he poured us both some pumpkin juice. "What's up with you mate?" he then said to Sirius who was looking gloomily at his carefully arranged silverware.

"Have you accidentally put a spoon down at the wrong angle?" I joked laughing with his friends.

Sirius laughed halfheartedly but grinned.

"Good one Taylor. Nah Prongs, I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Yeah I noticed you were up astonishingly early this morning," James said, his elbow touching mine as he cut up an omelet.

Sirius shrugged. "Where's Jessica?" he asked me.

"Sitting with Derrick. It's a good job you told her that he was looking for her. I reckon she's happier than she's been in quite a while!"

"Good for her," he said flatly as he vanished the plate in front of him. A smaller one appeared and he asked politely, "Could you please pass the bacon?"

Everyone looked generally astonished.

"What have you done with the real Sirius Black?" Remus asked.

"What? I'm just being polite," he shot back.

"Since when are you polite?" Peter said in awe.

"Look Lindley has the bacon next to her, so I just wanted it. But if you all would prefer I was rude about it…" with his face quite red, he got up, reached over the table and grabbed the plate roughly from next to me.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Aww, did Siwius get up on the wong side of the bedd?" I said, laughing.

James coughed into his plate, turning red as he chuckled while Sirius just rolled his eyes.

"Oh piss off Taylor," he said in annoyance, finishing the last of his bacon. "I'll see you later," he muttered to us before exiting the hall.

"What's up his?" Remus asked curiously.

James shrugged. "Dunno, but I'm sure it'll blow over, whatever it is."

We nodded and continued to eat and talk but I was a little distracted. I really hoped it had nothing to do with the little moment we'd shared in Hogsmeade. But then again, he probably hadn't even noticed it.

I've realized that the relationship Sirius and I share is just a petty, comical nonsense one. But any girl who has looked at him would feel little butterflies if he picked her up and twirled her around in the snow with him. Getting to know him had helped me get over the meaningless crush I'd had on him for years, but it had also opened up a whole new obsession in the form of James Potter. Although, it didn't seem much like an out of reach obsession anymore, especially when he leaned over to brush the hair off my eyes.

"Your hair looks really pretty today," he said with a smile. His glasses were a little crooked so I tentatively moved them straight. We both smiled at the touch.

"Ok, you guys are sort of making us sick now. Aren't they Pete?" Remus said with a smirk.

I blushed but James laughed and shoved his friend.

"Walk with me to class?" he asked.

"I'd love that," I said with a grin.

We walked to Potions together while Remus and Peter went off to find Sirius. We took the long way, talking comfortably and laughing often. He really made me feel like less of a miserable prat, it was refreshing. When we walked in to the room, Jess was sitting waiting for me at the desk behind Lily Evans. Lily and Dorcas were talking animatedly to Jess (no doubt about Derrick) but stopped as soon as they saw us. Obviously, Dorcas was trying to make up for she and Marlene's pushiness in Hogsmeade. James nodded at them and waved at Jess before heading to his seat near the back. I could feel the tension between Lily and I and it was anything but casual when she turned around.

"Look, I feel really awful about the row we had in Hogsmeade. You're entitled to make your own opinions about Potter and I'm sorry," she said formally.

"Thanks, I know you don't get along with him though, so I suppose I understand your concern."

Lily smiled. "Yeah well, its not that we don't get along. He's just insufferably annoying."

Jess and I laughed as I began to pull things out of my bag to get ready for the lesson. Just as a bunch of papers fell off my desk, I saw someone had caught them from falling. Sirius was clutching my tattered notebook with a lazy smile on his face. He dropped it playfully in my lap and vanished the rubbish I'd managed to dig up on to my desk.

"Clean up your act, Taylor. Honestly, I don't know how you function."

His previous gloomy mood seemed to have disappeared as he grinned at me cockily.

"Shove off Black," I said rolling my eyes. He and Remus laughed together and went to join James at the back of the room.

"I think I know what you mean when you say insufferably annoying," I said to Lily.

A/N: sorry really short chap but will update really soon, review please!