Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing from the fantastic world of Harry Potter because all of that belongs to the amazing JK Rowling!

I cannot honestly thank all of you enough for your encouraging words and your amazing reviews! You're all making me want to write more and at a quicker pace! I'm actually a couple of chapters ahead right now!

I haven't been able to thoroughly revise this chapter like I have been like the last few, so please excuse any grammar or spelling errors!

This is just a fun chapter to because everyone is going back to Hogwarts and it explains how much Elaine really loves Lily and it also gets Elaine just a little bit closer to Sirius!

I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you again for everything!

-Yani :)

Chapter Eleven

September the first arrived and I woke up that morning before everyone else in the Evans' house. I showered quickly, knowing that Lily would soon follow suit. I got dressed slowly though and looked around my room. It amazed me that my Summer holiday was already over and my parents had already been gone for two months. It feels like just yesterday that I had begun Hogwarts and now here I was, a sixth year.

I packed up a few remaining things into my trunks and made sure Antigone was safely put in her cage. "This is it, girl, we're going back!"

She hooted in understanding.

After a few minutes of saying goodbye to my room till at least Christmas, I put a spell on my trunks so that they would safely set themselves up at the front door of the house, and then carried Antigone downstairs.

Mrs. Evans was already making breakfast and she was humming softly.

"Good morning, Mrs. Evans!" I said cheerily and sat down at the table.

She smiled. "Elaine, dear! You're in a good mood."

I nodded. "I'm in a great mood! A fresh new term, fresh start. I'm very excited!"

"I like your attitude!" She walked over to me and sat down and took my hands in hers. "Elaine, I have had a wonderful Summer with you here. So, has Lily and Mr. Evans, and well, Petunia is Petunia." I laughed. "I love you dearie, just like my own chickens."

I smiled, tears forming. "Mrs. Evans you're like another mum to me! I love you!" And I threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly.

She laughed and wiped her own eyes. "Okay, how about some breakfast?"

I grinned. "Yes, please!"

Lily and Mr. Evans joined our little party downstairs and Lily was smiling just like I had been. If anyone liked school more than me, and mostly because of the academics, it was Lily. She sat down next to me and poked me incessantly.

I glared at her. "I'm excited too but can you please stop poking me! How old are you?"

She laughed. "A new term, Elaine! A whole new term, can you believe it?" Then her voice dropped to a whisper, "not to mention this whole love fest you have going with Sirius. Should be interesting, don't you think?"

I couldn't help the lovey-dovey smile that seemed to engulf my entire face. I was smitten and the boy had no idea. "Oh, shut up."

She giggled.

Petunia never came down for breakfast which I found very weird, but Mr. Evans explained that these days were always hard for her. He made it seem like it was hard for her because she was going to sorely miss Lily, but I knew better. Days like this were hard for her because she wasn't going.

Mr. Evans helped Lily and I pack the car up with our trunks and owls and before we knew it, it was time to go. Mrs. Evans decided that she was going to stay at home with Petunia and Mr. Evans would be the one taking us to Kings Cross.

I said goodbye to Mrs. Evans first. "Thank you, Mrs. Evans, for everything. I'm going to miss you loads. Love you!"

She was already crying before I spoke. "Oh, Elaine! You're welcome, dear! I'm going to miss you too! And we'll see you at Christmas. I love you too!"

I smiled and went off to the car not wanting to intrude on Lily's moment with her Mum. Mr. Evans had already started the car and he looked rather sad. "Mr. Evans, I know you're going to miss me tons, okay? But you can't be sad."

He chuckled. "Elaine, it was truly a pleasure having you here. It's going to be tough not having you and Lily around. We don't really talk about this, but, with Petunia not being magical, things get pressed in the house."

I nodded. "I figured as much, sir."

He sighed. "You made the house more fun with your upbeat attitude. I'd like to think that Petunia even had a rather entertaining Summer watching you and Lily bond. Sometimes I think she might be jealous of the relationship you two have."

I frowned. "No offense sir, but if she wasn't so blindingly jealous of Lily-about everything-she could have that relationship too."

"You know what the worst part of that is? I know that," he whispered to me. "We will miss you two indeed."

I gave a small smile and saw Lily running to the car, a broad smile on her face. There was no need to ruin it with what Mr. Evans and I had just talked about. The way I saw it was, Petunia had an incredible sister who she didn't even care to get to know. She had no idea who Lily was friends with besides me, or what boys Lily hung around with, or how many O.W.L.s Lily had received, or what subjects she liked and disliked. She knew nothing about the amazing girl living down the hall from her and that hurt my feelings. Lily was the closest thing I had ever had to a sibling, she was more than my best friend and had been since our first year. It bothered me that Petunia's jealously had blinded her so much that she had nothing of a relationship with her own sister. I pitied Petunia.

We arrived at Kings Cross about fifteen minutes before the train was set to leave so we had to hurry. Mr. Evans helped us unload the trunks and then we placed them on the trolley in under five minutes. Next was goodbyes.

I hugged Mr. Evans. "Thank you for everything, sir. I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

He hugged me back tightly. "You're welcome m'dear. It was an honor to have you with us. I'll be seeing you at Christmas."

I grinned and turned to my trolley, allowing Lily to have her moment with her Dad.

Several minutes, and I love yous, later, Lily and I began to race to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. We got to the barrier between nine and ten and ran straight into the bricked wall. I again closed my eyes like always, and once more I was greeted with the familiar scent of the smoke from the train and the loud blubbering of mothers saying goodbye to their kiddies for the first time and the talk of everyone's wonderful holidays.

Lily and I gave our trolleys to the porters and then ran on to the train.

"Elaine, over here!" I heard someone call from behind me. The smile that spread across my face was tremendous. I probably looked like quite the dimwit.

Sirius was standing there, a small smile playing at his lips, and waving his arm over to where he was.

I grabbed Lily's hand and walked her over to the compartment. I gave Sirius a hug when I reached him and he kissed the top of my head. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied happily.

Inside the compartment was the Marauders along with Charlie and Kendra. I was surprised that all six of them had fit in there. I suppose six was the limit.

"Hi everyone!" I gave Charlie and Kendra hugs, along with Remus, and smiled over at James and Peter. Lily said hello to everyone as well, she even nodded at James which was the most she had acknowledged willingly in five years.

I looked up at Sirius who stood by the door. "Lily and I are going to find another compartment, I guess."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? We have one right here."

"Black, if you haven't noticed, there was no way we'd fit."

He looked at the compartment and then at Lily and I. "Sure we would. Ey, Prongs, sit on the floor under the window, will ya? And Lily can have his seat. You can have mine here on the corner and I'll sit at your feet."

I made a face. "I don't know."

He grabbed my hand. "We'll be fine."

We maneuvered ourselves around so that James was sitting on the floor, closest to Lily might I add, then Remus, then myself, and Sirius sat at my feet with his head resting on my knees on one side. On the other side was Peter, Charlie obviously across from Remus, and Kendra across from Lily with her legs criss-crossed.

We did fit, and rather cozy at that. I wasn't about to complain when Sirius was so close. Lily on the other hand looked slightly annoyed.

Sirius looked up at me, his face upside down. "You know, Prescott, that massage would be amazing right now."

I rolled my eyes. "Not now, Black. I've got Remus's arm in my rib cage. Tonight, in the common room, maybe you can persuade me."

He grinned wickedly. "Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to convince you."

I realized how this conversation probably sounded to everyone else and I blushed. Then the whole compartment burst into laughter. I couldn't help it, even I had to giggle at mine and Sirius's exchange that was dripping with sexual innuendos.

I looked outside of the compartment, out to the little hallway one could walk through, and I saw Selena Marcos, that was the girl that Sirius had been snogging in Diagon Alley. She saw who I was with and instantly scowled and then gave me the most wretched look.

I stared back at her, and before I knew it, her bloody robe had caught fire. She ran screaming down the hallway while I turned my attention at the people before me. That was really weird. Did I do that? For a while, I remained quiet because that was all I could think about. I knew that sometimes witches and wizards had strange little bouts with wandless magic on accident, but in my mind I wanted her robes to catch fire...and they did. I shook it off though, I doubted that I was the cause of that.

All of us eventually broke into our own conversations. Lily was actually talking to James, literally speaking to him like a human being, and Remus was talking to Charlie, which was a pretty big improvement since most of the time he ran away from her. Kendra was in her own world, completely engrossed in her muggle fashion magazine that she had grown quite attached to, and Peter was just sitting there staring out the window.

That just left Sirius and I who were talking about, nothing really. We were having a very aimless conversation but I was enjoying it. After a while I asked him if he was getting uncomfortable.

"I'm fine, Elaine, really," he assured me for the umpteenth time.

I scrunched my nose. "Lets just switch for the rest of the journey. We haven't got that much time left."

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Prescott, if this is your way of trying to get out of that massage, it's not going to work."

"You are so ridiculous, Black, I swear. I'm still going to give you the stupid massage, don't worry. But I actually feel bad that your sitting there all squished like a boggart in a tight space. Can we just please switch?" I begged him.

He stood up. "I don't want you sitting on the floor."

I stood as well and I hadn't thought about how close we were going to be, but my body was completely pressed against his. I could feel my face growing hot and my whole body warmed as well. My breathing completely stopped and I looked down at our feet. "Where do you propose I sit?"

He leaned down and put his lips on my ear. "Give me a second." He sat down and I was relieved at the loss of contact despite how wonderful it was. If he and I were any closer I'd probably melt.

Just as I though that, though, he pulled me down so that I could sit on his lap.

Holy Merlin, I was going to die.

He had his arms on my waist and his head on my shoulder like that night in the common room last June. This was really dangerous. I looked over at Lily and she was staring at Sirius and I, even James had his eyes on the two of us.

If I didn't die of complete and utter embarrassment because of Lily who was winking at us suggestively, I was going to explode with joy because I was literally sitting on Sirius Black's lap, the most amazing and wonderful and beautiful boy in all of Hogwarts.

"You smell good," he whispered in my ear, his nose skimming the skin behind and below my ear.

I shivered and closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of being so wound up under his spell.

"Wolf's got your tongue?" He whispered so quietly that I could barely hear him.

Oh he was such a little shit.

I whipped my head around at him and saw that his eyes were wide and bright with excitement. This was new for him too, well new for him in the sense that he and I were friends and venturing down a very complicated path. Our faces were so close that our noses were centimeters apart. "You are such a prat."

He chuckled. "You're so easy to get worked up."

My ears were burning up. "Stop it!"

He was grinning. "Give me one good reason why."

My nostrils flared.

"See, you can't. You're loving this," he replied, his breath washing over my face. It still smelled like Liquorice Wands.

I couldn't help but smile and turned around so he wouldn't see my face.

Everyone's eyes in the compartment were on us.

"Oh, quit your staring you nosy gits," I grumbled and I could feel Sirius shaking with silent laughter.

I then noticed James wink over at his best friend.

Lily was grinning at me, as were Charlie and Kendra. They were never going to let me hear the end of this one.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was filled with laughter due to James and Charlie arguing over which Quidditch team was going to win the cup this year in England which eventually led to Charlie transfiguring James into a baby swine. Even Sirius had to laugh at his newly transformed friend. The best part for us and by far the worst for James was that we left him a piglet for over an hour. Lily did say that he was adorable but when he turned back to James she mumbled that he wished he wouldn't have.

When we arrived at Hogwarts, we were going to be taken over to the castle via the carriages. I hopped up on one that Lily had and Sirius and James joined us, leaving the other four to another carriage. I sat across from Sirius who played footsie with me all the way over to the castle. Lily just ignored James.

We got to the Great Hall and I literally ran to take my seat. I was so excited for all of this school year's possibilities that I couldn't contain my energy any more. Sirius chased after me and took his seat next to me while Lily sat on my other side.

Professor Dumbledore gave his usual speech saying how we shouldn't conform with being average, that we should overcome that complacency and ensure ourselves with greatness, which was actually a good way to welcome us all. Then he spoke about the Forbidden Forest and discussed some of Filch's rules which just put the hall to sleep.

When the feast appeared on the tables, people began to cheer. Sirius was whistling.

As we ate, Sirius held onto my hand the entire time, leaving me with just one arm to eat. Charlie had actually played the 'oops-I-dropped-my-fork' routine to get a look under the table and when she came back she whispered something in Kendra's ear causing them to burst into giggles.

I remained quiet at dinner because I had many things on my mind. Why was Sirius being so affectionate? I mean, yes, sometimes he was like that to bother me but something was different. Why did he want all of us to be in the same compartment so badly, sure it was fun but wasn't it uncomfortable? And what was he playing at with having me sit on his lap? He knew he flustered me easily but what did it matter? I was so bloody confused that I didn't know what to say during dinner because my mind was working at a rapid pace.

The feast ended and all of made our walk to our respective towers. Just as I was heading up to my dormitory, someone grabbed my arm. I knew who it was before I even had to turn around. "What now, Black?"

He smirked. "My massage. Meet me in the common room in ten minutes." And then he ran off to his dorm room.

I rolled my eyes and went into the sixth year girls' dormitory and sat down on my bed.

Lily barged in, soon followed by Kendra and Charlie and all three of them bombarded me with questions.

"What's going on with you and Sirius?"

"What was that on the train? Did he snog you?"

"He was holding your hand all throughout dinner! Are you not telling us something?"

"And what's this about a massage?"

"Elaine, what's going on?"

"Come, on! Tell us before we go mad!"

I laughed. "Calm down, you three! Nothing is going on between Sirius and I. I don't know what happened on the train. No he did not snog me. No, I am not not telling you something. He says that I owe him a massage from the night I heard about my parents, we were talking about massages just before I got the owl. And I already answered that one."

The three of them were staring at me as if I had ten heads.

"What?" I hissed at them.

Lily was grinning. "He's in love with you, I swear it."

I rolled my eyes. "He is not. I'm going to change and then go downstairs. Don't go in there if you're going to sit in a corner and giggle the whole time."

The three of them laughed as I changed into a muggle t-shirt and a pair of shorts that I usually slept with. "Is this alright?"

Charlie spoke first, "you're just going to the common room, why are you so worried?"

I scowled.

"Because she'll be with the love of her life!" Lily sang at the top of her lungs.

I lunged at her, tackling her to her bed as she laughed.

Kendra stood in the corner of the room, her finger to her chin as if she were deep in thought.

I hopped off of Lily and her bed. "What are you thinking, Ken?"

She smirked. "Well you want to get his attention, right?"

Was that what I was trying to do? Did I want his attention? Because most of the time when I got it, I ended up looking like one of his silly little fan girls. I went against my better judgment. "Yes, I suppose so."

Kendra looked over at Charlie with a wicked grin playing on her lips. "Well, in the muggle world, girls like to wear their shorts a little shorter than normal, right?"

I think I knew where she was heading with this. "And you want me to what? Roll my shorts?"

Charlie and Lily were laughing as Kendra came over to me and grabbed my shorts. She began to fold them, once, twice, three times, and now my shorts looked like underwear.

I was already blushing. "I can't go down there like this!"

The three of them were laughing as Lily took me by the shoulders and forcefully pushed me out of the dormitory and then closed the door before I could run back in.

I groaned. It wasn't like I couldn't just unroll my shorts but, what if this worked? What if me showing a little bit of leg drove Sirius as crazy as he drove me? I couldn't believe it but I was actually going to go through with it.

I slowly and very carefully walked down the stairs to the common room and saw that it was empty, except for Sirius who was sitting on the couch in front of the fire place. "Hey," I said, quietly but loud enough for him to hear.

Sirius turned his head around and when he saw my 'little' attire his eyes practically bulged out of his head. The shock quickly wore off of his face and a sneaky grin placed itself upon his gorgeous face. "Come here."

I took a deep breath and walked over to him and sat down as far as the couch would allow.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you sitting so far away?"

I blushed. "I didn't notice."

He rolled his eyes. "You're an awful liar, you know that, right?" He took my hands and pulled me closer to him and placed one of his large, rough hands on my bare thigh. "I never realized how long your legs were."

My heart was racing at an alarming rate. "Well, it's not like you really get a chance to see them around here with the stockings and skirts and whatnot."

He grinned. "I'm happy they've decided to make an appearance."

I smiled and looked away to regain my composure.

Sirius Black was going to be the death of me.

He grabbed my hand, making me look at him. "So, how about that massage?"

I bit my lip. "If I'm terrible, you can't get mad."

He sat on the floor and I did the same, sitting behind him. "You won't be terrible. You're good at everything."

I laughed. "You just want a massage."

"True," he replied, laughing as well. "Should I take my shirt off?"

My eyes widened. Thank, Merlin, he couldn't see my face. "Um, if you want."

In seconds, his shirt was off and on the floor next to us. If someone came down to the common room at that precise moment, they would think the worst of us.

So there we were, in the middle of the common room, I in my shorts that left practically nothing to the imagination, and Sirius with no top on. As intense as the situation was, I wanted to laugh my nerves away. How could it be that I had Sirius Black shirtless and currently in my clutches? Life truly was funny sometimes.

"You can start any time, you know?" Sirius teased, peaking at me over his shoulder.

I took a deep breath and began. I opened my legs so that Sirius could sit between them and he placed his hands on my legs and started to rub them up and down. This was definitely crossing some friendship boundaries in some way. Sirius's skin was smooth and tan, exactly how I had imagined. He had one small brown freckle on his right shoulder blade and I committed it to memory in case I never got this opportunity again. And although his skin was perfect in every way, he had one slightly raised mark on his left shoulder, a faded scar that appeared quite old by the look of it. I didn't say anything about it though. His skin was hot beneath my fingertips and he was very relaxed. He would occasionally lean into my touch but never did he fault in running his hands all over my legs.

If it were possible to die of sheer enjoyment, I would have on the spot. It was not such an innocent touch in theory, or in perception either I suppose, but having his hands on me was singularly the most amazing thing I had ever experienced. It warmed me up faster than anything I had ever known and I wanted nothing more than that moment to last forever.

After a rather long time of no talking, he groaned and fell forward. "You are incredible."

I laughed and pulled my legs up to chest. "So, it wasn't bad then?"

"Bad? Elaine, that was spectacular! I've never felt better." He turned himself around, put his shirt on, and then pulled me closer to him gently. "Did you have a good Summer?"

I smiled and pushed myself closer against him. I could hear his heart beating. "I did. You?"

He chuckled. "Of course, I did. I was away from my wretched parents for an entire Summer. Do you have any idea how amazing that is?"

I made a face.

He realized his mistake right away. "Shit. Elaine, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. You don't know my parents so you can't imagine what it's like for me. I reckon since you turned out pretty wonderful, your parents were probably as equally incredible."

I gave a small smile. "Nice save."

"It wasn't a save," he said and placed his lips on my forehead. "I do find you amazing, and I am sorry about what I said."

I closed my eyes. "Sirius, why don't you like your parents?"

He sighed against me. "That's a story for another day. I promise I'll tell you, just not yet at least."

I could take that. "Okay. Fair enough. Last question though, you only have to say yes or no, that scar on your shoulder, that's from them, isn't it?"

He looked around the common room and then at the dwindling fire. "Yes. It's probably really late."

"I know," I whispered sadly. That meant that we were going to have to part ways for the night and sad because his parents had caused him that pain. I hugged him tighter.

"Come on, lets get some sleep." He stood up and pulled me up with him, holding me close to him as he walked me to the entrance of my dormitory. "You remember how our plans to-er-transform were hindered last term?"

I nodded.

"Would you still like to do that? Say, next Friday?"

I grinned. "Yes, of course! I can't wait!"

He laughed quietly. "Perfect. Well, sweet dreams, Elaine."

"You too, Sirius."

He hugged me once more and kissed the top of my head before heading off to his own dormitory. When I walked into mine I saw that everyone was already asleep. Normally they'd all be waiting for me to tell them about what had happened but it must have been late considering they were all passed out.

I climbed into bed and buried myself under the covers. It was odd, but, it was easily the best night's sleep I had ever gotten in my entire life. Apparently, all I ever needed was a dose of Sirius Black in my life.