Disclaimer: I don't own Lily Evans, the Marauders, Dumbledore or any of J. K. Rowling's other characters. I also do not own Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Madame Pudifoot's, the Three Broomsticks or the often mentioned Butterbeer. All I own is Shane and Skippy and the plot.

Shane Spencer

November 26th, 1977

Why was I working so hard to look my best? It's not like Sirius cared what I looked like. Okay, he probably did. He was just that shallow, but it wasn't that bad. Still, I felt the need to look nice. I wanted to impress him. I'm such a loser.

"You're doing your hair all wrong!" Lily shouted as she ran over and pulled my hands from my brown locks. "You're hair looks best down and curled."

I sighed and watched my hair in the mirror as it swirled and flew all around me. I appreciated all of her attempts to make me look as nice as I felt I had to, but she was pulling at my roots too much and my hair felt like it was about to fall out.

"Lily, really, it's not like I'm meeting the president," I mumbled, crossing my arms to show my annoyance. "It took two bloody hours to get my hair ready for that."

"Still, I can tell you want to look nice for Black."

"Would you at least call him by his first name?"

"No."

"Then I'll call James Potter."

"You can't do that, you're his friend. I personally think you could do much better than Black."

I scoffed. "You just admitted that you're dating James." Of course, this comment had earned me a swift smack in the back of the head. It was worth it, though. The face she made when I said "dating" was priceless.

She had me dressed in a stylish coat sooner than I would've if I'd been forced to dress myself. I also wore boots that I didn't know I owned. I was glad that I was wearing them because the snow had build up in the past week. I was glad that I didn't know I owned them because they were butt-ugly. Then, we walked side by side down to the common room.

"Hello, ladies." Remus greeted us gently, offering a smile.

"Good afternoon, Remus." Lily smiled, pushing me towards Sirius. "How are you today?"

"Where's Peter?" I asked, interrupting Remus because none of us wanted to hear about his problems with all of his homework.

"Peter had to go home. I'm afraid his mum's ill and he'll be spending several months there, taking care of her." James said, sounding intelligent for Lily. It was actually very convincing.

"Oh, that's too bad. We'll have to send something." I said, allowing Sirius to snatch my hand and entwine his fingers with mine. "Speaking of sending something, what do you all want for Christmas?"

"You shouldn't be the one asking about presents," Sirius spoke for the first time that day. His voice was calming. "It is your birthday on the twentieth."

"Seventeen, they grow up so fast." James feigned sadness. "Where the time goes I'll never know."

"Shut up, Potter!" I yelled, pulling a Pumpkin Pasty (how it got in there I'll never know) from my pocket and throwing it at him.

"Seventeen, we'll have to have a party." Sirius mumbled, pulling me in front of him and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"A party's fine, but it's only going to be our two dorms." I said, leaning against him gently. "I really don't want to have to deal with any of my Slytherin fans on my birthday."

"Understandable, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to embarrass you on that day." I could tell he was smirking, and I knew he was completely and utterly serious about it. He was going to do something stupid on my birthday, like serenade me or something of the like.

I smiled at the thought of him singing. It was funny as hell. "Let's go." I gave out a snort of laughter and pushed myself out of his grip. I allowed him to grab my hand and lead the way.

The group made our way out of the castle, chatting amiably about the ongoing Quidditch season. Several times I found myself on Sirius' back.

When our relationship began, I thought everything was going to change completely. I thought we wouldn't be able to have fun anymore. I'd been proved wrong several times. We still played all sorts of pranks, and we still spent every night in the boys' dormitory with a pile of candy. Nothing had really changed at all. We were still the same pair of goof-balls, only now we were a couple of goof-balls.

"Where to first?" Remus asked, pulling his hat down slightly further as to cover his ears.

"I say we go scope out Madame Puddifoot's." Sirius said, hoisting me upon his back. I smiled as we found ourselves on the dirt road in Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade was beautiful in the winter. A thick layer of white snow laid against the buildings, having been trampled on the road and turned into brownish-gray slush. Smoke rose from the smokestacks, clearly seen in the cold air and light-blue backdrop of sky. Several happy groups of travelers and Hogwarts students stood and sat around the long stretch of road, laughing and smiling like there were no tomorrow.

I'd always loved Hogsmeade. It was an amazing little town with sociable people and kind shop-owners. It was the only all-wizard village in Britain, and that is why I found it so interesting.

"No, the Three Broomsticks!" I yelped. "Three Broomsticks, Three Broomsticks!"

Why was I so excited about the Three Broomsticks? Butterbeer. I loved Butterbeer. In fact, James often said I had an unhealthy obsession with the drink. I was planning on asking Rosmerta how she made it or where she bought it from… someday.

"Alright, alright," Remus groaned, covering his ears as I started squealing. "We feed Shane's Butterbeer needs and then go to Puddifoot's."

There was a round of nods, and a spazzy jump from me. Lily, who didn't normally accompany us on these trips, stared at me with a worried look on her face.

"Are… Are you alright, Shane?" She asked, gripping James' sleeve.

I smiled, nodded, and squealed some more. "Butterbeer, Butterbeer, I love Butterbeer!" I sang to myself. I could feel Sirius shaking beneath me, trying to hold back his laughter. "Go ahead, Sirius, let it all out!"

He began chuckling as we stepped inside the Three Broomsticks. I took in the familiar scent of rotting wood and mildew and sighed. I loved that smell. Wait! There was something else there!

Oh, wait, I'm on Sirius' back. I really like his cologne…I thought to myself as I took a big gulp of his scent. He smelled like pine trees and peaches. I liked pine trees and peaches.

I sighed and looked around at the interior of the Three Broomsticks. It was a dark room. There was a fireplace if you turned left as soon as you entered, and the bar was to the right. On the walls, antlers and other such things hung from plaques. Being part animal myself, I found this offensive. There were very few windows, and the ones there were were opened as wide as they could go to let out all of the smoke hanging in the air.

James went off on his own to buy us all a mug of Butterbeer (my tongue literally flopped out of my mouth at the thought) and Sirius and Remus moved two tables together. Lily and I sat down across from each other, and Remus sat at the end closest to us. Sirius sat beside me, his chair groaning with protest as he scooted closer to me and draped his arm over my shoulders.

"Butterbeer for all!" James yelped, setting five mugs down on the tables in front of us.

"Yay!" I snatched one of the cups and raised it to my mouth, taking a giant gulp of the rich, creamy liquid. It flew down my throat, and any tension in my body loosened. As always, it was warm, but not too warm.

I sighed in contentment and leaned back in my chair. I felt Sirius pull me a little closer, and found out why as one of the new employees (Rosmerta had lost several due to the need of staff in the Ministry) walked past, his eyes locked on me. I smiled and cuddled into Sirius' side.

"Well, I heard it's someone's birthday soon." I jumped in Sirius' arms and spun in my chair. Standing behind me in her normal outlandish robes was Rosmerta, a smile on her round face. She flipped her blonde curls off her shoulder and continued. "Seventeen, is it?"

I nodded. "Yep! Apparently, I'm having a small party."

"I didn't promise it would be small." I heard Sirius mumble before taking a large gulp from his mug.

I glared at him for a moment, and then returned my eyes to Rosmerta.

"Since when can Mr. Black have his arm around you without loosing it?" She asked, smiling at the muscular arm that sat protectively across my shoulders.

"Since he asked me out a week ago." I was beaming. I could feel my lips stretching from ear to ear.

"Finally gathered his guts and did it, did he?" She asked, setting her petite hands on her hips. "Good on you, Sirius. Way to win the prize!"

I glanced at him and smirked. His face was red as a tomato and his eyes acted like Rosmerta wasn't there. I'd never really seen him nervous, much less nervous about me.

A grunt found its way into my mouth as I slowly lifted myself to my feet. My legs burned and my head ached, not to mention my pounding heart. My eyes were bloodshot, and my arms shook. I'd been working for too long. Dumbledore didn't expect me to go any further in this state, did he?

"Once more, Shane." He mumbled, his hands folded behind his back.

"I can't, Professor…" I whispered. It was all I could muster as my breath was coming out in gusts and being sucked in at rapid speeds. "I can't… I can't go anymore…"

"Once more." His voice was stern and hard, and I knew he was completely serious. I had to go once more. "One more time, and then you can retire for the night."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I pictured a bear. Its shaggy fur and large paws, the black nose and eyes, everything was pictured in my mind. I felt all of my energy surge into my feet, and the transformation slowly begin.

I gasped. The pain was excruciating, but I knew that I had to endure it and move on. In my mind, I pictured Sirius standing in front of me, yelling words of encouragement. He'd be whooping and smiling and calling me bad names, but in the sweet way. He would be my reason.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of power and all of my energy gently rose through my body. I felt everything around me change as I pushed myself to my limits.

I let a final groan escape my lips, and fell forwards. But, instead of landing on my face, I landed on two large, hairy paws. And when I went to say something, all I heard was a sound mixed between a whine and a groan.

I looked down at my paws and felt my jowls curl back over my razor sharp teeth in some sort of weird bear smile.

I yelped and clomped over to Dumbledore, throwing my weight on him and lapping at his face with my new and strange tongue.

"My goodness, Shane," He chuckled, hitting the ground with a thump and rolling his face away from my tongue. "I'm an old man, my dear."

I made my bear noise and gently pushed my way off of him, beginning to run around and getting the feel of my padded paws and new weight. It was strange, walking on all fours. It felt like I was waddling all the time. I liked it.

"Alright, my dear, time for bed."

I groaned and put on my "puppy-dog face."

"No, bed."

I made another one of my noises and stared at the old man for several seconds, seeing if I could get his solid façade to waver. It didn't, and I fluently changed back into myself. I found myself sitting on my behind in a pile of needles.

"Goodnight, Professor." I said with a smile before jumping to my feet and booking it. I had to get to the castle as fast as I could so I could wake Sirius up and tell him all about what happened.

My Converse clad feet pounded heavily as the tension in my thighs resumed its rightful place. I groaned, and slowed down slightly as to let myself rest. My headache found its way back, and I knew that I was going straight to bed. I could tell Sirius later.

As I stepped through the portrait hole, I closed my eyes and groaned.

"Long night?"

"What the hell?" I yelped, jumping out of my socks and flashing my wand out. My eyes flashed open at the speed of light as I twisted my body towards the fireplace. But, my momentary surprise was short-lived. "Don't scare me like that!"

Sirius just smiled at me, amusement shinning in his beautiful grey eyes. "Sorry, love." He patted the spot beside him.

I smiled, tucking my wand away and quickly striding to sit beside him. As I did so, he leaned back on one hand, using his other one to stroke the back of my over-grown, brown hair.

"You were out later than usual," He mumbled, his fingers moving through my hair easily. "I was starting to get worried."

I scoffed. "It's not like Dumbledore would murder me, Sirius." I turned to face him for a moment, trying to show him how preposterous that thought truly was. I turned back to the burning fire. "I had to make up for the lessons I missed earlier."

"What was it this time?" He asked, leaning forward again. "Magic, transformations?"

"Transformations." I answered quickly. "Transformations for three, bloody hours. But, it definitely was worthwhile."

"How so?"

"You know how I've been aiming for a bear since last week? Well, I finally got it!" I yelped. My head ached, and I pulled myself back down to earth.

"Seems like it took a good toll on you." He chuckled as I raised a hand to my forehead. "You know what stops a headache in its tracks?"

I glanced over at him painfully. "What?"

A smirk played on his lips. "Butterbeer."

"So we're going to the kitchens?" I asked excitedly. Sirius seldom took me to the kitchens, saying it was a long and tedious journey. Of course, I knew that wasn't the real reason. The kitchens were on the same floor as the Slytherin common room. And we all know how Sirius feels about Slytherin.

"Indeed, my princess."

Being the Butterbeer fanatic I was, I had to jump and hug him with all my might. He hugged back, but eventually forced my body off of his.

"I was anticipating this, so I grabbed the Cloak." He said, snatching the silky cloth I knew well from the couch behind us. We stood, and he threw the Cloak over our heads. Sirius was too tall for that thing, and had to squat to keep his feet hidden. I tried to imagine Sirius, Peter and James all hiding under here. It was actually really funny.

Slowly and with much difficulty, we made our way out of the portrait hole. Being Marauders, we knew where all of the secret passageways were, and found the portrait of Elizabeth Burke. Behind this portrait was a passage to the Dungeons. From there, we quietly prowled in the direction of the portrait of the bowl of fruit. Sirius tickled the pear (I never understood the logic behind this) and the portrait swung open.

"In we go." Sirius whispered, gently pushing me forward and inside.

I gapped at the size of the room, as I'd only been in here a handful of times. It was huge with a vaulted ceiling and stone walls. Four long tables sat in the middle of the room, stretching the length of it. At the far end was a gigantic brick fireplace. Brass pots, pans and plates were stacked up in great mountains against the walls.

"Master Black!" My eyes flashed to one of the many house elves staring at us. "Master Black, how wonderful it is to see you!"

"Hello, Skippy." Sirius said, grabbing my hand. "This is Shane, I'm sure you've heard of her."

"Oh yes, Skippy hears all of the gossip! Skippy hopes that you are happy together." The little house elf's ears folded back and her (as I assumed) big, purple eyes jumped excitedly between us. "What can Skippy do for you tonight, sir?"

Sirius smirked. "Two Butterbeers, if you would." The house elf nodded and jumped away from us.

"What a strange little elf." I mumbled, watching and she skipped away. "She seemed to know you well. You must come down here without me often."

"Like I told you before, the journey is tedious." He spat, pulling me over to the end of the nearest table.

"You're just afraid we'll run into Slytherins." I mumbled as he pushed me onto a three-legged stool and left to find another in the piles of brass on either side of us.

"Indeed, that's another strong factor."

"You're no fun when you're grumpy."

"Then it's a wonder why I'm ever any fun when I'm around you."

"That hurt."

He smiled and set the stool he'd found beside mine. He sat down and laced his fingers with mine. "I'm sorry, love."

I sighed and looked him in the eye, a smile slowly finding its way onto my face. There was this look in his eyes that screamed happiness, and that made me happy. Then, I realized why he was happy.

Slowly, he leaned forward. I wasn't ready for him to kiss me. I'd faint if he kissed me. Plus, I wasn't in the mood to have to explain the entire thing to Lily. Her flurry of questions and accusations would turn my headache into a migraine.

"Butterbeer!" The back of my neck began to burn after I spun my head towards the tiny, squeaky voice. I wanted to hug Skippy so bad.

"Thank you, Skippy." I said, stretching my arm out and gently taking one of the glass mugs from her frail fingers.

"Yeah, thanks." Sirius said in a monotone voice. He took the other mug from her and she shuffled off.

"I like her." I mumbled. I raised the mug to my lips and felt the warm, butterscotch liquid inside flow smoothly down my aching throat. I began to look around the room, but not because the scenery was amazing (which it wasn't). Sirius was staring at me with a frown on his perfect face.

Sucking up my bravery, I took a quick glance at him. His eyes cut into me like a knife. I don't think I'd ever seen him so downcast. So, I decided to play it innocent.

"What?" I asked, wiping my mouth on my sleeve.

He was silent for several moments, just staring at me with those eyes of his. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it before words could come out. "You know what, just forget it."

Stab! Another knife found its way into my heart. Was he trying to hurt me?

I sighed shakily, and set my mug in my lap. "Tell me." I pushed, gently setting my hand on his forearm. I'd never touched him there, and the way his muscles tightened at my touch wasn't a good sign (even if it turned me on).

"It's nothing! In fact, the more I think about it the more I think it's stupid!" I glared at him, and he took this seriously. When I glared, he knew that I was (no pun intended) serious. "You're the first girl I've ever met that… doesn't want to kiss me…"

"Now who said I didn't want to kiss you?" I asked, taking a gulp from my mug.

"But, you so happily jumped away from me when Skippy-"

"Sirius, it's not that I don't want to kiss you, it's just that I don't want to kiss you right now." I explained, running my hand through my hair. "I have a headache, which Lily would turn into a migraine all too quickly. Plus, I'm not ready yet. I'd black out if you kissed me."

"So… you do want to kiss me?" The look of disappointment on his face disappeared and was replaced by his signature smirk and a look of gleefulness in his eyes.

"Of course I do." I answered.

The new look that came to his handsome features scared me a little bit. His brow furrowed and a devilish look framed his mouth.

His face lunged at me, and I quickly raised my mug to my face. I took a large gulp from the glass and felt it lurch as Sirius' face connected with the bottom.

"Gah!" Sirius yelped, jerking away from me and grabbing a hold of his nose.

I gasped and set my mug aside, quickly raising my small, pale hands to his face. "Oh my God, Sirius!" I yelped, stroking his cheeks and hair. "Are you alright? Let me have a look-"

Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled from my stool and onto the floor behind me. In that moment, I felt one thing. My back connecting with the stone floor. In the next moment, the pain that had developed disappeared.

My eyes were wide as I felt Sirius' lips on mine. There weren't and never will be words that described anything I was feeling in that moment. The feeling of my heart beating rapidly against my ribcage. The feeling of his soft, supple lips connected with mine.

Somehow, the excitement and nervousness in my lungs disappeared and I closed my eyes, trying to enjoy the moment.

He pulled himself away from me and I suddenly felt incomplete, like he'd taken a part of me with him when he did.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked, stroking my face gently. I kept my eyes closed, as if I was asleep. "Shane? You didn't really black out, did you?"

I kept quiet as he began to gently poke my shoulder. Then, my eyes flashed open and I yelled one word at him, "Boo!" Of course, he jumped away from me and hit his head on the table at my feet. "Gull-i-ble."

"That's not funny!" He shouted, rubbing the back of his head. I just smiled at him, which he soon returned. I crawled over and cradled myself in his lap, resting my aching head against his broad shoulder.

We just sat there, his arms wrapped around my small frame and my head on his shoulder. Sometime, I fell asleep. I didn't know when, but I know it was in his arms. I was in the arms of Sirius Black, the boy I didn't like upon our first meeting. When people say "love at first sight," they're all being big, fat, goddamn liars.

A/N: This is the longest chapter I've ever written! Six pages of writing and almost 4000 words! WOOHOO!

Anyways, It's Thanksgiving today, so happy Thanksgiving everyone! I was planning on putting this chapter up on Valentine's Day, but the math just didn't work out. So, I'll post today instead.

I've got a total of 73 pages written, and several more to come soon, as I have a four day weekend. So, I'll be a lean, mean, writing machine.

Reviews would be nice…

R&R