NOTE: This story is primarily focused on SiriusOC and is only written for fun.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter and the world JK Rowling created. I only own the characters you do not recognize from Harry Potter.

It seems my weekly updates keep being pushed back a day. I'm hoping the next installment is up by Wednesday so I can try to stick to that day for updates. But no promises. A huge thanks to those that reviewed last chapter. I appreciate and love hearing your feedback!

Fate

Chapter Thirteen

James waited in the common room for Samantha late the next morning. He knew that she did not want to talk about what had happened the previous night, and he would not give her an opportunity to disappear for the entire day. His want to talk to her was not just to settle his own worry. Adrien had entrusted him to look out for his little sister while she was at school, and no matter how much she despised it, he took the task seriously.

It did not take her long to emerge from her room. She was alone, luckily, and though her face fell when she found him waiting for her, she did not look surprised. She'd known deep down that he would not allow the subject to drop. He stood as she approached, and when she stopped in front of him, bidding him good morning, he suggested they take a walk, to which she'd agreed.

They danced around the subject at first, talking about things such as homework and the quickly approaching first quidditch match of the season. James would have liked to go out to the grounds, but the skies were overcast, the heavy clouds threatening the first snow of the year, a cold bite to the wind. So they settled themselves onto a sill of a large window, as close to the cold grounds as they dared.

Once they were seated on the sill facing one another, James wasted no more time in breaching the subject that they had thus far carefully avoided.

"You said he'd followed you from dinner?"

Samantha nodded, her gaze turning out to the grounds below. "That's what I gathered. It's highly unlikely we just happened to run across one another."

James scowled deeply. "He won't take a hint, will he? It was made perfectly clear that he was to stay away from you. What was it he wanted?"

She shrugged. "He wished to know what exactly was going on between Sirius and I. When I told him nothing he…"

"What? He what?"

"He wanted to know if I would consider taking him back."

James snorted, shaking his head. "Please tell me you told him no."

Samantha narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not an idiot, James."

"So what did he do when you told him no, then?"

She shrugged, but did not answer. James frowned.

"Sam," he said warningly.

"Alright," she relented before mumbling, "He tried to kiss me. And when I shoved him away, he became angry. That's when he grabbed me."

James bristled at her words. "That bastard," he muttered. "I had a feeling he'd eventually try to get you to get back with him. I guess I didn't warn him off enough."

"No," she replied quickly. "Just let it drop. Sirius already warned him off; Oliver didn't look happy. He probably won't bother me again. He'll be done with school in June and then I'll never have to see him again. Just let it go. Please, James."

James continued to frown at her for a long moment before he reluctantly gave in.

"Alright," he sighed. "But if he so much as looks at you again, I'll hex him until his face is so swollen he won't be able to see anything at all."

Despite herself, she gave him a small smile. "There'd be no stopping you?"

"I'd lock you in a broom cupboard if I had to," he informed her. "And put Remus outside the door to guard you. He's quite scary when he wants to be, y'know."

She giggled softly. "He's got the ferocity of a teddy bear, James."

James grinned at her. "Oh, you'd be surprised. You've never seen him lose his temper."

"Perhaps because I've never pushed him to do such."

James scoffed. "Remus can be very sensitive. It doesn't always take much to push him."

"If you say so," Samantha said with a shrug. "But I'm fairly certain that if you have me locked in a broom cupboard, he will let me go rather than stand outside to make sure I don't get out."

"You're probably right," James agreed. "But that is where the threatening comes in."

"If you ever lock me in a broom cupboard, James Potter, I swear Oliver McCalman will be the least of your worries."

James laughed at her threat, but it sounded more nervous that amused, and his hand came up to ruffle his hair.

"Right," he said. "I'd never actually do it."

"Sure you wouldn't," Samantha replied, giving him a knowing look. "You might not be able to go through with such a threat with me, but there are some that you wouldn't hesitate to lock in a broom cupboard for your own amusement."

James appeared thoughtful for a moment. "You're giving me ideas, you know. I ought to enlist your help every now and then."

"No thank you. I'll leave that to you and your friends."

He nodded. "That's probably a good thing, really. I fear Sirius would think I'm trying to replace him."

She grinned wryly. "He probably would," she agreed.

They fell silent, and Samantha's gaze turned back to the grounds below. James studied her for a long moment before he broke the silence.

"It's a good thing he went to find you last night."

She shrugged, laying her head on her knees. "I suppose it was."

"How much did you tell him?"

She was silent for a moment before softly saying, "Everything."

James nodded. "He's a good guy, you know."

He saw her stiffen ever so slightly.

"I know, James," she sighed.

"I wouldn't let him talk to you if I thought he was going to hurt you."

"I know, James."

"You should give him a chance."

Samantha remained silent and watched as a group of first years braved the cold to walk along the bank of the lake. James watched her as she tried to ignore his last comment.

"He's nothing like Oliver, you know."

"His past relationships say otherwise," she replied quietly.

"I know he's never been the best when it came to relationships."

She snorted softly. "You can't even call them relationships."

"No," James agreed. "You can't. But do you know why he moves from girl to girl? Why he's never given a relationship a go?" She did not answer but he didn't expect her to. "Sirius himself doesn't really know, I'm sure. He's grown up in a family who slowly came to want nothing to do with him. In order to balance, when he was at school he came to want to be wanted more than most would. And the girls he frequents satisfy that longing."

She'd finally turned her gaze away from the window and was watching him, slight surprise in her eyes.

"There's a lot of reasons he's avoided any serious relationships. But the main reason is he doesn't want to let anyone too close. Because if he does, he's putting himself at risk to not being wanted anymore. He's never taken a girl on an official date for this reason. He's never wanted to put himself out there to be hurt. Until now. If you think about it, the two of you have quite a bit in common."

"I never…gave much thought as to why he occupied his time with various girls. I thought he just enjoyed it."

"That's what he'd have people think," James replied with a slight smile. "But Sirius is a very complex person."

"I'm beginning to see that."

"Listen," he sighed. "I'm not asking you to completely trust him. I know it will take a lot for you to be able to do that. I just think you should give him a chance. Go to Hogsmeade with him. It won't hurt anything. It doesn't have to be more than that date."

Samantha regarded him closely. She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't want to go with Sirius to Hogsmeade. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that she was letting her fear to get the best of her.

"I don't know…"

"Please, Sam. It'll be good for the both of you. I don't think you'll regret it. It's just a few hours, and it can stop there if that's what you want."

She sighed heavily and forced herself to swallow her fear.

"Hey," James said, touching her arm when she did not answer. "I promise, he's not going to eat you." A grin slowly spread across his face. "And he only bites occasionally."

She found herself returning his smile. "I'll bet he's moved on…doesn't even want to go with me anymore."

James laughed. "Are you kidding? All he's planning now is to hang out with us in Hogsmeade. Going with you instead sounds like a much better plan."

She nodded, her smile dimming ever so slightly as she shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, James." He opened his mouth to argue, but she did not give him the chance to speak. "I'm not saying no. I just…I want to think on it. It's three weeks away. I've got time. Just…don't tell him. It'd be best he didn't know I was reconsidering if I can't bring myself to change my mind."

"I don't think I'll let you," James informed her. "But I won't tell him so long as you promise to reconsider."

She nodded, flashing him a grateful smile. "I promise."

And she upheld that promise, though she found herself going back and forth on her decision of what she was going to do. On good days, she was able to convince herself to go up to Sirius the next day and tell him that she'd love to go to Hogsmeade with him. But she always found a reason to not speak to him about it at the last moment, reasons such as she did not want to distract him from the Defense Against the Dark Arts essay he was working on or Morgan Devereux was sitting within earshot. On bad days, she was just as terrified as she had been when he had been asking her to accompany him to Hogsmeade, and nothing she told herself would make that fear go away. It was an endless battle within herself, one that she was beginning to think she would not win.

James was beginning to grow impatient. After nearly a week had passed, he began to corner her to ask her if she had made a decision yet, worried that her silence meant that she had not changed her mind. To quiet him and avoid an argument, she always assured him that she would speak to Sirius eventually. This only worked the first few times before James caught on and accused her of not changing her mind at all. He only backed away when she told him that his constant questions where making it hard for her be able to push the fear aside, which was true for the most part as he made her more nervous about the prospect of accepting the date every time he spoke to her about it.

She found herself avoiding Sirius at times for she found that she was unable to stop thinking about the talk she and James had had whenever she was in his company. She managed to make her avoidance go unnoticed, at least by Sirius. James seemed to see right through her, and whenever she spit out an excuse, he would glare at her. She ignored him.

Another week passed in this manner, and come the morning of Gryffindor's first quidditch match, she still had not spoken to Sirius. She was beginning to wonder if she ever would.

The match was against Ravenclaw, and after breakfast, Samantha trekked down to the quidditch pitch with Amber and Lily. The three of them seated themselves in the stands with Remus and Peter, and not long after, the match was underway. It was brutal from the beginning, neither team wanting to lose their first match of the year. The Gryffindor team was playing harder than they had played before, and it did not take Samantha long to realize that Sirius's head was not in winning the game as much as he was out for vengeance. Even when Oliver McCalman was not even close to having the quaffle in his hands, Sirius seemed determined to aim a bludger at his head. Oliver quickly caught on to Sirius's intentions and focused his attention more on avoiding Sirius's bludgers than in trying to help his team score points.

In the end, Gryffindor managed to come out on top, though as the team gathered around their seeker, Matthew Olmstead, Sirius looked more disappointed that he had not managed to knock Oliver off of his broom than excited that they had won their first game. As the Gryffindors erupted into cheers, James clapped Sirius on the shoulder and the two of them exchanged a brief knowing look.

A few hours later, the Gryffindor common room was in an uproar as a huge celebration was thrown in honor of the team's victory. James was ecstatic as he produced bottles and bottles of butterbeer and piles of sweets and food. Everyone was too excited about their win to question where he had gotten such things, especially on such short notice.

Sirius, hair still damp from his after-game shower, had his arm slung around Mason's shoulders as they both loudly chanted a victory cry. Some of the louder members of Gryffindor house joined in, waving their butterbeer bottles in the air. When they finished their chant, loud cheers filled the room.

Sirius grabbed a bottle of butterbeer and held it out to James.

"To the best captain and chaser Gryffindor has seen in years," he shouted and was answered by loud cheers.

"To the most unrelenting beater ever to fly through the skies! Poor McCalman never stood a chance," he returned, earning even more cheers.

"To the best quidditch team ever to walk through Hogwarts," a seventh year shouted out. This time the cheers than answered were deafening.

Samantha sat off to the side, in a small alcove by a window, watching the festivities. Lily was across the common room as she and Remus spoke to one another. Amber extracted herself from the crowd to join Samantha, seating herself down beside her.

"That was quite a game, wasn't it?"

Samantha smiled, nodded. "It was. I know James is happy that he managed to win his first game as captain."

Amber turned to look at her, her eyebrows raised. "Sirius seemed quite determined to knock your ex boyfriend off of his broom. Is there any particular reason why that is?"

Samantha shrugged and shook her head. "No, I can't imagine why."

Amber was not fooled. "He knows, doesn't he? He knows all about your relationship with Oliver. How did he find out?"

There was no avoiding the subject now. "A couple of weeks back," she explained. "He ran into the two of us…chatting. And I ended up telling him the whole story."

"And now he's defending your honor," Amber exclaimed, excitement lighting up her eyes.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Samantha muttered at her. "He was doing no such thing."

"Perhaps it's a little dramatic," Amber agreed. "But he was definitely telling him to back off. The boy likes you, Sam. I can't believe you turned him down."

"Well, I…" Samantha shifted uncomfortably. "I've been reconsidering, you know. Only I'm not sure what to say."

If Amber had looked excited before, it was nothing compared to how she looked now. "Oh, just put the boy out of his misery and tell him you'll go with him already. If he knows the story about Oliver than he knows why you turned him down initially. Just tell him you've reconsidered."

"But what if he no longer wants to go to Hogsmeade with me? We haven't touched the subject in weeks. I could make a fool of myself bringing it up now."

Amber's face filled with frustration. "He's going to want to still go with you, Sam. I can promise you that. All you need to do is let him know you want to."

"But-"

"That's it. Listen to me Samantha Dawson. If you have not accepted Sirius's offer by the end of the night, I will just have to do it for you," Amber declared.

"Oh, Amber, you wouldn't."

But the look in Amber's eyes confirmed that yes, indeed she would. And if Samantha thought approaching Sirius herself was bad enough, she did not want to think of how it would feel if Amber ended up doing it for her.

"You and James ought to team up," she muttered darkly, eyes narrowed. "Together the two of you would be unstoppable at pushing people into things."

"Don't act like you're not grateful for the extra boost," Amber replied with a grin. "I've got to be off. I promised I'd spend some time with Mason; we're going to Hogsmeade together next week, you know. I'll be watching you so you'd better get moving."

Samantha crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall. "Have fun."

Amber winked at her before pushing herself to her feet and making her way through the crowd towards Mason. Samantha sighed, swinging her legs up onto the alcove, turning her gaze to the dark window, attempting to block out the noise of the party. Normally she enjoyed celebrating right alongside the rest of the house, but tonight her heart was not into it, and if it were not for Amber's threat, she probably would have gone up to her room for the rest of the night.

She saw his reflection in the window before he spoke.

"Are you saving that seat for anyone in particular or may I grace you with my presence?"

She was unable to help the smile that split her lips as she turned. Sirius stood over her, a bottle of butterbeer in each hand.

"The party's being held in the honor of your team," she said, glancing to the center of the room where most were gathered. "Are you sure you want to spend it with me?"

He shrugged, smiling easily down at her. "They won't miss me."

Swinging her feet down to allow him a place to sit, she took the butterbeer bottle he offered her.

"That was quite a game you played today," she commented as he seated himself beside her. She tried to ignore the way his damp hair fell into his grey eyes as he gazed back at her, and she couldn't help but notice how good he smelled fresh from the shower.

Sirius let out a laugh. "So you noticed?"

"It would have been very hard not to. And I can't say I didn't appreciate the gesture. I think I would have liked it even more only if you had managed to knock him off of his broom."

Sirius's face dropped into a scowl. "Don't think I didn't try. But once he caught on to what I was doing it was a bit more difficult. He'll have some nasty bruises though."

Her smile softened as she dropped her gaze down to the butterbeer bottle she clutched in both her hands.

"Thank you," she said to him quietly. "You didn't have to do that. You didn't have to put all the effort into trying to knock him off that broom for me. You didn't have to help me that night or listen to me."

He shook his head at her. "No, I didn't," he agreed. "But it's not that I had to or even just felt like I had to. It's that I wanted to. Surely you know that by now."

"I do now," she replied. "I'm just not used to…having things done for me because someone wanted to do them. Oliver certainly never went out of his way for me."

"But I'm not Oliver, am I?" he asked her softly.

"No," her gaze moved back up to his. "You're not."

Surprise briefly shot through his eyes when she admitted her realization out loud. He didn't quite know what to say after that, but she saved him the trouble of figuring it out when she spoke after a short silence.

"Look," Her gaze dropped once more, and she shifted slightly, causing him to frown at how uncomfortable she had suddenly become. "I know I told you no about Hogsmeade but..if I were to tell you I've reconsidered, would you still want to go with me? If you don't already have other plans, that is."

His heart pounded in his chest when what she said sunk in, and he dared to hope that after all this time, she really was agreeing to a date. When he replied, the Marauder in him was unable to help teasing her a bit.

"I do already have plans." Even with her head ducked down, he could see her face fall, and he was unable to tease any longer. "But I have no problem with standing James up, so long as you don't mind dealing with the potential whining that will follow."

Her gaze jerked up when she realized he had only been teasing her, and a smile slowly spread across her face. "If he could not whine about this, he'd find something else to whine about anyway."

Sirius inclined his head in agreement. "Is it a date then?"

She nodded. "Yes. It is."

He grinned broadly at her as a few members of the quidditch team shouted at him to join them. Sirius waved at them to tell them he was coming before turning his attention back to her.

"I'll see you later then?"

She nodded. "Go celebrate. We can talk more later."

He made to stand then, but before he did, he leaned towards her and brushed his lips against her forehead. As she watched him go, her heart skipped a beat, but this time, it was a feeling she welcomed.

The party lasted well into the morning hours. After her conversation with Sirius, Samantha's spirits had lifted and she had joined in the festivities. The celebration eventually died down, and long after most of the house had gone to bed, Sirius and Samantha sat tucked in a corner, speaking quietly together. Before he'd gone to bed, James had shot her several satisfied grins, which she had pointedly ignored. Sirius, on the other hand, had grown tired of the looks, and had fixed the problem with a well-aimed stinging hex. It was nearing four in the morning when the two of them finally called it a night, and when Samantha collapsed onto her bed, she was unable to wipe the smile off of her face.

She had no idea what time it was when she woke up later on, but her eyes still burned from exhaustion, a consequence of staying up so late. She rolled over onto her back with a sigh, blinking her eyes. Her stomach told her that it was hungry, but she didn't make to move. She was content to just lay in bed for awhile.

Her curtains were suddenly yanked opened, startling away the remainder of her exhaustion. She expected to find either Amber or Lily standing over her, but neither one of them is what she found. Morgan stood over her, her face twisted into deep scowl. Shock played across Samantha's face at the intrusion as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed angrily.

"I've heard an interesting rumor this morning," Morgan snapped at her. "I thought you and Sirius were only friends."

Inwardly, Samantha groaned. She'd only agreed to go to Hogsmeade with Sirius just the night before, and already, the word was spreading.

"We are," she replied.

Morgan scoffed at her response. "Please, Samantha. Cut the act. You don't go on a date with a friend."

"This isn't your business," Samantha ground out between clenched teeth. "So stop pretending it is."

Morgan narrowed her brown eyes dangerously, and she stared down at Samantha for a long moment before saying, "I'll make it my business if you don't watch yourself."

With one last sharp look, she turned on her heels and stormed from the room. As Samantha allowed herself to fall back to the bed with a loud groan, all she could bother herself to worry about was the fact that Morgan had left her curtains opened, and it would take effort to close them again.

"Why did Morgan look so angry? I passed her on the staircase and had to move out of her way before she ran right through me."

Samantha glanced over at Lily, watching as the redhead approached her.

"She opened my curtains," Samantha muttered in response. "And didn't close them when she left."

Lily frowned as she slid onto the edge of Samantha's bed. "And that's why she's so angry? Because of the curtains?"

"Well, no," Samantha replied as she once again pushed herself up, this time much more willingly. "She was made about…other things."

Lily raised an eyebrow at her and stared for a long moment.

"You don't have to dance around the subject," she finally said. "Amber told me you agreed to go on a date with Sirius last night."

"Oh," was all she could manage to say for a moment. "So you heard it only from Amber then?"

"Well," Lily shifted slightly. "I asked her. After I heard some talk at breakfast."

Samantha groaned loudly and leaned her head back against her headboard. "Fantastic. It happened only just last night and I'll bet half the school already knows."

"If it makes you feel any better," Lily told her, "Sirius has nothing to do with the word spreading. Seems like he's sleeping in just as late as you. What time did the two of you go to bed last night?"

Samantha shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "Nearly four."

Lily rolled her eyes. "No wonder."

She turned her gaze away and Samantha frowned as she watched her silently.

"Why Sirius Black, Sam?" Lily finally asked quietly. "Why him? You could do better."

"Could I?" Samantha asked, causing Lily to turn her startled green eyes back to her. "Is he really so bad? Don't get me wrong, Lily. It's just one date. But…he's descent. He's got a few issues but he's a good person."

"The two of us used to talk about him and how he moved around from girl to girl. How he always strung Morgan along."

"I didn't know him. He's not as bad as I once thought."

Lily nodded and glanced down at her lap. Samantha sighed and scooted closer to her.

"Nothing's going to change Lily. It's just one date. It doesn't mean anything."

"Yes it does," Lily said, glancing back up at her. "And I'm happy for you. Really, I am. I think he may be good for you, Sam."

Samantha gave her a small smile. "Maybe you're right. And maybe spending more time with them will help you to warm up with James."

Lily grimaced before returning her smile. "Potter put you up to this didn't he?"

"Not this time," Samantha assured her.

"That's not any better."

Samantha laughed at the slightly horrified look on Lily's face.

"Don't worry, I won't bring it up too much," she promised.

Lily nodded and gave her a grateful smile. Samantha's stomach suddenly growled loudly, remind her how hungry she was.

"You ought to get out of bed," Lily laughed. "I came up to make sure you were still alive. Lunch is in just a few minutes."

Samantha sighed. "I should get dressed, shouldn't I?"

Lily nodded. "And shower while you're at it."

She giggled at Samantha's answering glare.

"I'm kidding. Come on," she said, pushing herself from the bed and reaching out towards Samantha. "Get up."

Samantha groaned loudly as Lily pulled her to her feet.

"Never let me stay up so late again," she mumbled as she slowly made her way towards the bathroom.

"You say that as if you would listen to me when I told you to go to bed. I'll wait for you in the common room."

Samantha dismissed her with a wave of her hand. As she turned the shower on, she was unable to help the relief she felt that Lily was now supportive of her date with Sirius. It made it all the better.

End Chapter