A/N: Introducing another OFC, she's going to be prominent for the next couple of chapters but it's necessary.

"Today we are going to begin practicing the Shield Charm," announced Professor Jetty, this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

The students all grinned at each other as they put away their books and pulled out their wands. They'd been reading about the Shield Charm for weeks now and all thought it was about time they got some practical experience with it. Many, of course (including Sirius, James, Peter, and even Moony), had been practicing the charm in secret on their own when the chapter in The Dark Forces became too dull to handle.

"Everyone pair up and decide who will be the first to try the Shield Charm and who will be the first to try and curse the other—nothing too dangerous, now; I don't to have to send any of you to the hospital wing."

James partnered up with Peter ("sorry, mate, but you have to admit he needs more practice than you do,") leaving Sirius to find someone else. He wished he could just work with Moony, but of course not only was the werewolf forbidden to do magic, he didn't have a wand either. It had taken some serious cajoling before Sirius managed to borrow James's wand so he and Moony could practice the spell in the privacy and security of the Room of Requirement.

"Do you need someone to work with, Sirius?" a soft, feminine voice asked.

Sirius turned around to see Rhonda Vick, Rebeka's younger sister, smiling at him. He nodded, slightly surprised at her friendliness. Sirius and Rhonda had been in Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic together since first year and while not quite friends, spoke in class on occasion and always waved or said hi in the halls. However, considering how disastrous the date with her sister had gone, Sirius thought Rhonda's feelings toward him would have cooled down a bit.

"All right," Sirius agreed, and they walked over to find an empty space.

"Do you want to try shielding first?" Rhonda asked. "I..." She looked over to make sure Professor Jetty wasn't listening and grinned. "...I've done a bit of practicing on my own, actually, so it might be more beneficial for you to go first."

Sirius couldn't help smiling back. "I've practiced on my own, too," he admitted. "Well, with James and Peter."

Rhonda laughed softly. "All right, then," she agreed. "I'm ready. Hit me."

"Expellia–"

"–Protego!" Rhonda shouted, and a bright shield formed around her, allowing her to keep a tight hold on her wand.

"Well done, Miss Vick!" Professor Vick shouted delightedly as he made his way over to them. "Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

Rhonda was either a natural or she really had done a lot of practicing, because she was able to withstand all of Sirius's curses.

However, soon Professor Jetty called time to switch places, and Sirius would prove equally proficient.

"Protego!" Sirius shouted again and again as Rhonda tried to curse him. "You're going to have to be faster than that," he smiled at her, lifting his Shield Charm after her third failed jelly-legs jinx.

Rhonda just smiled back and Sirius braced himself as she lifted her wand for another attempt. The incantation was on the tip of Sirius's tongue, waiting for her to make a move when he suddenly found himself hanging upside-down in midair. Sirius shouted out in surprise as his wand fell out of his hands and some spare change clattered from his pockets. The class began to laugh at him, despite some of them sporting hexes of their own.

"You cheated!" Sirius shouted upside-down at Rhonda, who was giggling behind her hand. "You didn't say anything."

"Sorry, Sirius," Rhonda laughed. "Since I wasn't being challenging enough for you, I thought I'd try a non-verbal spell." She carefully let Sirius down and he haughtily brushed off his robes and picked his wand back up.

James, a pustule-covered Peter, and Moony were still giggling at his misfortune. "Cut it out, Moony," Sirius muttered at his werewolf, "some loyal pet you are...laughing at me."

"Sorry, Sirius," Moony apologized through giggles. "But you have to admit it was funny."

Sirius knew it was funny and that no one's laughter was ill-natured, but his pride prevented him from admitting so. "You'll see," he muttered, turning back to Rhonda. "Taranta–"

"–Protego!" yelled Rhonda, and the spell rebounded to hit an unsuspecting Peter. Sirius quickly forgot his own humiliation as the class's laughter turned to his friend and he joined in on it.

"...So...er...how's your sister?" Sirius asked Rhonda as the class packed up.

"The same as she always is," Rhonda shrugged. "She is a bit sore at you for not asking her out again," she admitted. "But then again she always finds something or other to complain about, so really it's not too much of a shock."

"I couldn't tell if she wanted me to ask her out again," Sirius confessed, though he knew that he wouldn't have bothered even if she had seemed interested. "She didn't really talk much—I couldn't even tell if she actually liked me or not."

"I know, that's why I was surprised when she told me she agreed to go out with you," Rhonda said. "I never got the feeling she particularly liked you..." She blushed, likely realizing that might of been offensive. "...I mean, not that you're unlikeable...I mean I like you..." Rhonda's face got an even deeper red. "...I mean...well...I just think that Rebeka agreed to go out with you more because you're attractive than anything else."

"You think I'm attractive?" Sirius asked. Then he mused that Rhonda's face seemed like it would retain its shade of scarlet for forevermore.

"Well...all the girls do," Rhonda said, trying to sound nonchalant. "You...well...you are," she admitted. "But since Rebeka's never really spent any time with you since last week, she hasn't had a chance to see any of your other qualities."

"Like how talented I am at magic?" Sirius suggested.

Rhonda laughed. "Or how you goof off in class," she added. "How you can't take a nonverbal curse..."

"I want you to teach me that, by the way," Sirius added. "I need some way to not-so-subtly let James know how sick I am of hearing him go on and on about Lily Evans."

Rhonda just laughed again. "I actually learned the spell from her," she said. "She said one of her really good friends actually made it up...though I'm not sure I quite believe that," she added.

"Oi!" James shouted, and Sirius and Rhonda turned to him. "The bell already rang, are you coming or are you going to sit and chat all day?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, can I meet you later to learn the spell then?"

"Sure," Rhonda agreed. "How about tomorrow night after dinner? I'll find you in the Great Hall."

"Okay," Sirius said. "See you then."

He waved at Rhonda and grabbed Moony's leash from the wall before joining James and Peter to head to their next class.

"What?" he said blankly, staring at James's smug face.

"I thought you said you liked Rebeka Vick," James said, smirking. "I think you got your girls confused, mate."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked. "I did like Rebeka...before I found out she's about as exciting as a flobberworm, anyway."

"But Rhonda's a bit more interesting, eh?" Peter said, matching James's smirk.

"Sure," Sirius shrugged. "You both know her. We've all had conversations with her; we all know she's capable of conversation."

"So are you going to ask her out then?" James asked, nudging him.

"What? Why? I don't like her that way."

Peter and James looked at each other and laughed. "It sounded like you already have a date planned," James commented. "Tomorrow night after dinner, yeah?"

"We're not having a date," Sirius muttered. "She's teaching me a curse—a curse I plan to use on you," he added.

"Sirius, why don't you just admit you like her?" Peter said, rolling his eyes. "It's obvious you do, and that she likes you too."

"I don't—wait a minute..." Sirius interrupted himself, looking at Peter. "She likes me?"

"You need to change your middle name to 'oblivious,'" James decided. "You really couldn't tell?"

Once he thought back on it, Sirius realized that yes, Rhonda must like him. She'd been blushing and stuttering when talking to him, she'd called him attractive and even admitted she liked him (though she didn't specify that it was as more than just a friend).

"I suppose I could like her back," Sirius mused.

"You could or you do?" James asked, shaking his head.

"Well I never really thought about before," Sirius admitted defensively. "I liked her sister up until a little while ago, remember?"

"That was long-lived," Peter said sarcastically.

"'Suppose that's what happens when you base it on looks alone," James shrugged. "Not that Rhonda's bad-looking," he added quickly. "She's pretty, just..."

"...flatter," Peter supplied.

"And her skin isn't as clear."

"And her legs aren't as long."

"And her hair isn't as shiny."

To be honest, Sirius hadn't really noticed any of those things. And to be honest, he didn't really care much. He hadn't liked kissing Rebeka no matter how beautiful she was, so maybe he'd like kissing Rhonda if he went out with her just because he liked her more.

"Good thing my Lily has both personality and looks," James sighed as the object of his affections passed by.

Sirius and Peter rolled their eyes at each other.

"Rhonda, do you like Quidditch?" Sirius asked. They were sitting in the Great Hall after dinner a few weeks after she had taught him the Levicorpus spell, which he now used on James whenever the other boy spent more than sixty seconds ranting about Lily Evans (much to Peter and Moony's amusement). He wanted to ask Rhonda out on a date, but thought it would probably be more successful if they spent more time together beforehand. He'd discovered that she (reminding him of Moony) really liked to read, and sometimes he would read Eight Simple Steps to Becoming an Animagus or work on homework with her after class.

"Hmm?" Rhonda said, looking up from her book. "Quidditch? Yeah, I like it all right. I don't really play, except sometimes with my cousins during holidays, but I like to watch it." She smiled. "My parents took Rebeka and I to the World Cup a few years ago. It was brilliant."

"Well, the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff is this weekend. Would you like to watch it with me?"

Rhonda's smile became a grin. "Yeah, I'd love to."

"Great," Sirius smiled back. "It should be a great time."

"You should bring her flowers or something," Peter suggested.

"And put your arm around her when you're walking," James added.

"Maybe kiss her on the cheek when you meet her in the entrance hall."

"Tell her she looks really nice even if she's just wearing regular clothes."

"And say you've had more fun watching the match with her than you ever had with us."

Sirius sighed. "You're making this into so much of a bigger deal than it needs to be."

"Well you want it to be a good date, don't you?" James said. "You want it to actually work this time, don't you? And let's face it, mate, there are more romantic date destinations than a Quidditch match."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Sirius demanded. "The next Hogsmeade visit is ages away, and I don't want to be creeping around under the invisibility cloak with her."

"That's why you need to make it extra-special," Peter pointed out. "Make an ordinary weekend Quidditch match into a date she'll never forget."

Sirius washed down his pancakes with orange juice.

"You might want to hurry up, mate," James said to him from across the table. "It's almost time to go and you still need to bring Moony back upstairs."

"What?" Sirius asked, looking at his best friend. "What for? Moony always comes to Quidditch matches with us."

"Sirius, you're going on a date," Moony said, rolling his eyes at his owner. "I would just intrude."

"No you wouldn't," the Black boy objected. "It's not like having Peter or someone tag along; you're my pet."

"Isn't the whole point of going on a date to spend time alone with Rhonda?" Moony asked.

"But you'll miss the match," Sirius pointed out. "And you love Quidditch. And besides, Rhonda wouldn't mind at all. She's never had a problem with you in lessons or anything."

Moony sighed. "Sirius, listen. You're going on a date, all right? I know I'm not a human, but I would still get in the way. I don't need to witness your date. I'll be fine in the Room of Requirement. And look at it this way," he added with a smile, "if I'm not there you can tell me all about it when it's finished."

Sirius was still a bit put out that Moony wasn't going to join them, but he knew his werewolf had a point and grudgingly led him back to the Room of Requirement before he met Rhonda.

Sirius noted that he didn't feel any more excited or nervous about this date with Rhonda than he had before the one with Rebeka. He decided to chalk it up to not being the nervous type.

"You look very nice," Sirius said when he met Rhonda in the entrance hall, and she blushed slightly.

Really she was just wearing a cloak like everyone else, and a blue scarf, but she'd done up her hair differently and was wearing makeup and earrings. Sirius decided to continue taking his friends' advice and placed a quick kiss on her flushed cheek.

Rhonda giggled shyly. "So...you ready to go, then?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. He held her hand as they walked to the Quidditch pitch.

It was easy, really, and much more comfortable than it had been with Rebeka...but there still wasn't the fluttering or excitement.

Just give it time, Sirius told himself. It will get that way eventually. You haven't even kissed her properly yet. And Sirius was much more willing to try and 'give it time' with Rhonda than he'd been with Rebeka. Though he missed Moony's presence at the match, he actually enjoyed spending the time with Rhonda and was able to talk and laugh with her.

They held hands again for the walk back to the castle, Sirius boasting about how Gryffindor won and Rhonda maintaining that Sirius's House will definitely not be so lucky when it's their turn to face Ravenclaw.

"Well, I'm off to the common room," Rhonda sighed as they headed back inside. "Got some Potions homework I ought to finish." She stopped walking and smiled up at Sirius. "I had a great time today, you know. It was fun to watch the game...you know...with you."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed truthfully. "It was fun for me, too."

Rhonda didn't say anything else; she just continued to smile at Sirius. It struck him that she wanted him to kiss her. Kiss her...that was what he was supposed to do. They'd had a date, they'd had fun...so now he had to kiss her. And he liked her, right? So it should be better than kissing Rebeka, right?

There was only one way to find out.

Sirius leaned forward and saw Rhonda close her eyes and do the same. Their lips met gently, softer and less forceful than Rebeka's had been.

This isn't so bad, Sirius thought to himself as he pressed his lips to Rhonda's. I guess I can deal with this.

The girl was the one to pull back, and as she did she smiled breathlessly at Sirius.

"Wow," she whispered. Her chocolate-brown eyes shone with joy. It occurred to Sirius that, though darker, they were almost as pretty as Moony's. Almost.

Though, to be honest, he wasn't quite sure what she was "wow"ing about. This was only his second real kiss and there hadn't even been any tongues or anything that time. Was Sirius maybe better at it than he'd thought? Was Rhonda maybe not as good at it? Well, Sirius supposed it didn't really matter what he thought. At least he hadn't hated it, like with Rebeka. And if it made Rhonda go "wow," then that was quite a good sign, right?

"Just in case you couldn't tell," Rhonda murmured, looking into Sirius's eyes before leaning close and whispering in his ear, "I would definitely be interested in going out again." Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked up the staircase, turning back around at the top to smile and wave at Sirius.

"Did you have a good time?" Moony asked politely, looking up from his book.

"Yeah," Sirius shrugged, launching himself onto the sofa and putting his feet up. "I see you found a way to watch the match," he added, gesturing at the floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the Quidditch pitch that had not been there this morning.

"Yup," Moony smiled. "I could even hear the commentary. I'll have to congratulate James when I see him."

"Don't," Sirius disagreed. "His ego doesn't need any more inflating."

The werewolf just chuckled and turned back to his reading. Sirius didn't really feel like homework on a Saturday, even though he knew he had a fair amount to do, so he picked up his Animagus book again. He'd been through it a few times, knew all the steps, and thought he was ready to start preparing for an actual transformation...but he needed somewhere he could practice. The Room of Requirement could potentially be the perfect place if it wasn't already occupied by Moony. He knew he could just ask the room for a separate space, but his werewolf would know he was up to something. The dormitory had the risk of Peter or James walking in on him, so that was out. Really, the only place that seemed like it might work would be an empty classroom after hours. He could enchant the door to keep out intruders...and if he went when James had Quidditch practice his friends would be less likely to notice his absence.

Excitement bubbled up in Sirius's belly at the thought of actually turning this ambition into reality. He flipped through the book and reread Step Five: Proving Proficient in Animal Transfigurations and Step Six: Where Did that Tail Come From?

"Had a good week?" Rhonda asked, pecking Sirius on the cheek as she sat down at the table beside him.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, scooting over to make room for her. He smirked. "Definitely had fun kicking your arse in D.A.D.A. this time."

"Please, you got through my Shield Charm once," Rhonda said, rolling her eyes. Then she softened. "I've been looking for you after dinner to work on homework together...but you haven't been around. You...er..." she blushed. "...you still like me, don't you?"

"What? Of course I do," Sirius said, turning to her. "I...I hadn't even thought about it, actually. I've been a bit busy." And it was the truth. Every evening James had had Quidditch practice, Sirius had snuck into an empty classroom to practice animal Transfiguration. They hadn't gotten to anything that advanced in class yet, so it was a challenge. And Sirius had mused more than once that it would be more fun if he had a friend with him, but he didn't want James, Peter, or Moony to know what he was up to.

Then an idea struck him. "Rhonda, maybe you could help me," he suggested.

Rhonda furrowed her brow and looked at Sirius. "With what?"

"I'm trying to advance myself in Transfiguration," Sirius explained. He didn't need to tell Rhonda why. "It'd be more fun if you were practicing with me."

"Sure," Rhonda grinned.

"How about tomorrow morning?" Sirius asked. "I can meet you in the entrance hall after breakfast, after I take Moony back upstairs."

"It's a date," she said.