A/N: alright people, this is late and delayed and worst of all unbeta-ed. so this might not be that great a chapter. but the unbeta-ed thing will soon be rectified. i will update the chapter as soon as I get the beta-ed version. Now is it 1st October where you are? It is? then great ! I am 16 ! :D From where I am, I am already 16. so happy birthday to me ! :D

this chapter is a treat for all my lovely reviewers, and as i wanted it up today itself, it's unbeta-ed.

IT'S NOW BETA-ED BY THE GREAT SAS ! :D

Now the reviews !

Joelle8- I know... Sirius seemed daft no?

the pixie-like vampire- thank you ! :)

Aurora Orchid- :D :D I am SO glad to see you, thaaank you. and i tried messaging you on FB but didn't get a reply. And I am really glad that you liked Sirius. and do keep in touch. And also you are the 50th reviewer ! :D so you get to demand a one shot. :D

dimfishlovesparamore- thank you so much ! and about the one shot, as its my birthday, and i am feeling especially hardworking, you can have your one shot is you want ! :D

Lone Panda- No matter, this review does the trick. :D

Disclaimer: anything under copyright under someone else is not mine, but Eva, the Frosts AND THE PLOT are !

Once they separated, Eva hurried to the library. Spending the day with Sirius, she realised she couldn't be with him and last her life. However many times she had questioned her reasoning and had been tempted to give up, she now knew what she had to do. His ridiculously good looks, the attractive way in which his lips curved, almost challenging her, his wayward personality had charmed a small part of her initially. But she knew she couldn't possibly take his arrogant attitude. Hell, this day had been an eye opener. His gifts, his smiles, his offers of friendship had been misleading. And it was believable enough for her to trust him with her deepest secret. All she hoped was that he stood true to his Gryffindor chivalry and did not divulge her secrets. But she knew this too: although he might not actually do the deed, he could certainly threaten to. His pompous and smart-aleck side could easily hold this against her, and to add to the mix, he would find endless fun in it.

So as Eva entered the library, her mind considerably irked, she had a scowl contorting her face. She quickly rounded up the volumes they had taken out earlier the same day, shrunk them and placed them in her small bag. Next, she proceeded to look up every book, series, manuscript, letter, and illustration she could find that even remotely related to her interest. She packed them all in the same way and rushed back to the safe confinement of her room.

On reaching her bedroom, she found a brown barn owl patiently waiting for her with a letter. She opened it and found a letter saying her package had been delivered to the place intended. She gave the owl a treat and let him go. As she slunk down in front of the large fireplace and proceeded to pour over the great volumes in her bag, she had a satisfied thought in her mind. She always kept her word.

Sirius strolled the grounds until it had grown dark. The twilight had come and past him by as he continued to rue over his fate. His life had taken an odd turn this Christmas. He was to be betrothed to a girl he barely knew. And now that he had known her for a little over a day, known her for what she was, he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of restraint but a greater urge to go closer and, if possible, deeper. But somehow, with her nearby, he lost his trademark suaveness. It was as if she matched him better than himself. His ordinarily unaffected self tended to grow more fazed in situations involving her. With her, he was opening up, his guards being let down and in the process becoming more vulnerable.

Sirius only made his way back to the castle when he felt the cold seep into his skin through his thick layers of clothes as the rain started to fall down on him. He didn't have to walk far considering his room was around the back, but nevertheless it was enough to have him shivering by the time he reached it. Without looking around, he went straight into the washroom, waiting for some hot water to pulse down his skin.

Once he was considerably warmed, and his limbs had lost any sort of numbness attained by the cold, he stepped out of the shower, and toweled himself dry. As he pulled his jumper over his torso, he spotted a long package lying on his bed. His breath caught in his throat as he guessed, by the obvious shape of the package, what it was. He quickly searched the wrapping for any paper-note informing him the name of the sender. But as he couldn't find one in the next ten seconds, he lost patience and ripped the packaging off. Into his hands fell the very same broom he had been ogling at earlier that day. The dark red wood handle and green tinted twigs were the same. It was a surreal experience handling the broom, touching and caressing each inch of the smooth wood. The broom buzzed in his hand; he knew it was very powerful, and he could feel himself almost making a connection with the broom itself. As he came out of his reverie, he realised the broom would've cost a fortune. He knew the only person who could've known about it, and he couldn't help but wonder why she had gone to such lengths even after the disastrous day they had shared. Well, there was only one way to find out...

Sirius reluctantly left the broom in his trunk (that is after casting a wide range of security charms). He then hurried to Eva's room through the dimly lit cold stone corridors, wanting to reach her as soon as possible. Though what he wanted to say to her, he was not quite sure of. Should he thank her for the present, even though he had caused her a significant amount of trouble? Or should he be apologising for the said trouble? Well, he would just do both, he thought as he reached her room.

His was panting due the brisk walking he had done to reach her bedroom, but his breath caught in his throat as soon as he took in the sight before him. He stood in the doorway as he saw her. In front of the fireplace lay thousands of books, and among those thousands of books she sat. She had spread herself over the carpet as she turned from one book to another, before coming back to the previous one. She had her hair down, and it had curled itself around her shoulders in an unruly manner. She had a pair of glasses on as she sat in her black woolen pyjamas with white polka dots. She seemed strangely in her element, and Sirius couldn't help but smile a bit at the scene.

"I assume you know it's rude to stare?" she said without looking up.

Sirius felt his smile turn into a grin at this, "Yeah, but never really paid attention when we were sent to etiquette lessons."

"That is obvious," muttered Eva.

Sirius chuckled as he sat down beside her. "I can't recall inviting you in," she said, finally looking up from her books.

"I can't recall being banned from this room either."

"Oh yes, you can!" she spoke in a huff, "Remember in second year? You had levitated all my books? I distinctly remember banning you from my room."

Eva flushed a bit when she saw his amused face.

"Yes, I remember. You have quite a memory, don't you?" he asked in a whisper. Eva looked up to find him staring into her eyes.

"Eva, thank you for the present. I know it was you who sent it," he added quickly as her mouth opened in retort.

"But it wasn't needed. Really." He shook his head.

Eva's mouth curved into a sarcastic smile. "No, you didn't deserve it. But it was needed. I always keep my word, Sirius."

Sirius smiled at her. "You are right. I didn't deserve it. Especially after how I behaved at the bar." He took a deep breath as he took the next track. "I don't know what happened to me today. I'm not normally like that."

"No," she interrupted. "You aren't. You're not the suave, classy, confident guy with a big ego you are at Hogwarts, not this time. Why?"

"I-I don't know," he said after a pause. "I almost feel mentally affected."

Eva smiled grimly. "Or maybe emotionally?" With that, she turned back to her books as Sirius stared at her.

"Take that book over there," she pointed her finger to one at the top of a pile, "and get reading. We need to find something to help us as soon as possible."

Sirius did as he was told, still baffled by her earlier question. They sat for probably a good hour, pouring over books after books.

They worked in silence, only speaking to point out something of importance. They continued to work in the same manner until they were disturbed by a knock on the door. They looked up to find Blake peering into the room. He quirked an eyebrow up when he saw the two sitting together among the pile of books.

"Eva, I need to talk to you," he said.

Eva shared a curious look with Sirius as she got up. Blake sent Sirius a small wink accompanied by a very suggestive grin over Eva's shoulder. This caused Sirius to roll his eyes and grin back at him.

Seriously, he didn't know what he would do without Blake around.

A/N: I hope you liked it. do ,leave a review :D