No One Does It Better

Chapter 2

This is looking like a contest,

Of who can act like they care less.

Severus mumbled what sounded like 'Good Luck' to me as he and Sirius begrudgingly swapped seats. I stared straight on as they moved. How on Merlin's good earth was this happening? I pulled out my Advance Potion Making book and went to the Felix Felicis recipe and ran my hand over the top of my hair, smoothing any rogue hairs and reading to myself.

Sirius Black and I sat in silence for a good part of the class, neither of us even beginning the potion. I was itching to start it but I also refused to be the first one to talk. I flicked the pages of the book back and forth, my legs jittering to get some work done. This was torture. I am literally one of the schools best performing pupils; yet, here I was pretty much refusing to do any work. I bit my lip and looked at Sirius out the corner of my eye. He had his head resting on his hand, staring into space. He hadn't even opened his book! This was ridiculous. I looked at the clock realising we had little of half the class left. I swallowed, telling myself to be nice.

'Do you know what we're doing here, or will I just get started?'

Fuuuuuck I did it. I did it. I was both proud and disgusted with myself.

'I could help a little I suppose,' Sirius yawned and sat up. I quickly jumped out my chair and got all the ingredients and utensils that had been whizzing around my head since we were told what we had to do today. I spread them out over our workstation and began quickly.

'While I'm doing this, can you grind the occamy eggshell for me?' I asked. Sirius was not going to get away with doing completely nothing. Not a chance.

'Sure,' he mumbled and began to do as I asked. I couldn't help but feel like I had maybe asked him to help quite abruptly there. Did I? I wasn't sure. Shit, I feel bad now. It's not as if I have a reason to dislike him, the full situation is just awkward. I quickly glanced over at him, the notoriously famous black curls falling into his face while he worked. I watched him for a second and then I felt the sudden urge to ask him where he was this summer, I hadn't seen him at all when we visited Grimmauld Place when in London – which was a lot.

'So,' I pursed my lips as I added the squill bulb in and started to stir the potion. 'Good summer?'

It was a light question. Nothing to serious (no pun intended).

'Suppose so,' Sirius shrugged and gave me a quick glance. I had always noticed when he looked at me. 'You?'

'Yeah it was nice,' I nodded. 'Split it between France and London – the usual.' I glanced at him to see if he registered any familiarity with me. He just nodded.

'Cool,' he replied.

Cool. Cool! Cool. Ok. He knew I could be socially awkward - Did he? Had he ever experienced that side of me? I can't even remember now. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. I was the worst at small talk, ask anyone. I surprise myself sometimes that I didn't get chucked into Hufflepuff because of it - it is truly that bad.

I licked my lips and took a deep breath – fuck it. We know each other, why don't we just act like it? I mean, I've known the Black family from the second I was born, there was no point in hiding it. Sirius pushed the occamy eggshell towards me and I added it into the mixture and began to stir it slowly.

'What did you do with your time then?' I asked, beginning to heat the cauldron. 'I never seen you around when I was in town.'

This time I look straight at him, waiting on his answer.

Sirius Black smirked. He actually smirked at my question .

'I ran away from home last summer, actually.'

Well, this conversation just went from awkward to insufferable. I can't say I was overly shocked at his confession but I can't believe it took me nearly a whole year to notice his complete disappearance from Grimmauld Place. Ever since the summer after first year, I had sensed the tension between Sirius Black and his family flaring up but his parents never let it fully show when we would visit. He began to embrace being a Gryffindor, going against everything we were brought up to believe and being the heir to the Black family was important, and he was throwing it away in front of his parent's eyes. I began to see less and less of him each year over summer, Christmas, just overall events outside the school year but I never dared to ask Walburga or Orion Black where their eldest son was when he never appeared.

'Oh really?' I asked sounding surprised - which I was to be fair. 'I had wondered, and Regulus hadn't said anything, so I didn't want to ask.'

Sirius seemed to pause slightly at the mention of his younger brothers name – gotcha. Oh no wait, he just shrugged.

'It is what it is,' he gave a half smile. 'Did Scorpio make Kreacher's life a living hell this time?'

I couldn't help but smile back at him. Scorpio is my black cat and any time we visit the Black family home, he drives Kreacher their house elf crazy. 'Of course.'

'Good,' he nodded.

'Right everyone,' Slughorn called. 'Let's move these into the next room so they can brew! We will find out how well you have all done in March and if anyone's is perfect, your reward is a vial of your own potion!'

I groaned, forgetting it took so long to make this stupid potion and knowing I hadn't made the perfect potion. If only Slughorn had told us that a prize was up for grabs before we started brewing, I would have jumped right into it. Sirius took the caldron away into the other room while I packed up for my next class. I had just swung my bag around my shoulder when he reappeared.

'What class are you in next then, Nova?'

I couldn't help but feel like we had both just removed a few bricks from the wall we built after being sorted in first year. Believe me when I say, I hadn't had a conversation with Sirius Black since my first train ride into Hogwarts.

'Transfiguration.'

'Same,' he nodded and chucked his bag over his shoulder. Potter and Lupin walked up to our station, waiting on their companion. 'See you next time, then.'

'See you, Sirius.'

'First name basis?' Nathaniel appeared by my side as I watched the Marauders leave the dungeons. Do I tell him we always have been? No, save it for another day. We will probably only see each other in potions anyway, there's no need to dwell on anything Sirius Black related.

'He's ok. Scarily looks like Regulus though,' I said thoughtfully.

'Can you actually believe he's been fully disowned now?' Nathaniel asked as we walked out. I had absolutely no idea what class he was in next or if he even had a class next but he continued to walk beside me.

The Marauders were still walking further up ahead and I thought about the actual differences between Sirius and Regulus Black. Sirius' hair was better, Regulus' wasn't as curly but more a wave but they had it at around the same length. Both equally as tall, I had noted when we were leaving class there and thinking back to walking the streets of London with Regulus in summer but Sirius was broader but that was to do with their Quidditch positions. Regulus is a Seeker for Slytherin but I'm sure Sirius is a beater for Gryffindor. There was no doubt Sirius was the more handsome out of the two though, there was just something about him.

'Nova?'

Shit, I had zoned out on Nathaniel yet again. I just looked at him with the biggest eyes I possibly could, to which he scoffed and shook his head.

'You're unbelievable, do you know that?' he asked.

'I'm sorry,' I replied grabbing onto his forearm, grinning.

'I know a way you could make it up to me,' he said with a raised eyebrow and sly smile. He stopped outside the Great Hall entrance. He must have been free this period then.

'I'm still thinking about it,' I said with a smug smile and let go of his arm. 'Catch you later!'

I just made it to Transfiguration in time. Luckily enough, Adaline had saved me a seat near the back of the class. Professor McGonagall watched me take my seat with a raised eyebrow and then looked at the clock.

'You took your time,' Addie commented as I sat down next to her and pulled out my books.

'I know I was late on leaving Potions and then I was talking to Nathaniel.'

'You two are getting ridiculously predictable, you know that, right?'

I gave a sigh. I knew Nathaniel wasn't what I wanted in life and Adaline was right it was predictable but having someone just there was always useful, you know and obviously as we have learned, I can be an awkward soul so there was never going to be an easy way to break it off.

'Shh,' I hushed as MGonagall sat up.

Transfiguration was one of my favourite subjects and I was determined to do well in my last year.

'Good morning everyone,' the Scottish Professor started. I always felt a warmth when McGonagall spoke, it reminded me of home. 'We are going to be going into much more detail this year of the four main components that make-up Transfiguraion: Transformation, Untransfiguration, Vanishment and Conjuration. Today, we will go through Human Transfiguration and if we have time, some physical examples.'

I could hear voices and an extremely loud barking laugh a few seats behind me. I looked around and saw it was all four of the Marauders. Potter and Sirius were beaming at each other whilst Lupin had a goofy smile on his face and Pettigrew – well he always looked both nervous and extremely excited at the same time. There was always something about Peter Pettigrew that irked me but I could never but my finger on it.

'Well seeing as you boys seem quietly confident in this subject,' McGonagall stated sarcastically. 'Would any one of you care to showcase it? Say, change the colour of one's eyebrows?'

I wasn't the only one looking at the group of boys now, the full class was waiting in anticipation.

'What do you say, Prongs?' Sirius asked James Potter. 'You or me?'

The two boys grinned at each other, loving that the full classroom was aware of their presence and they both changed the colour of their eyebrows almost instantaneously. I grunted to myself. The arrogance of them both was astonishing. I turned away, refusing to give them the attention they practically begged for every time they walked into a room. McGonagall gave a small smile herself and simply got on with teaching.

I can't believe I was actually talking to Sirius Black not even one hour ago and truly thought he was decent? He almost made me forget that he could be an arrogant prick.

I had went straight to the library after dinner. The Marauder's over-confidence in Transfiguration and both Potter and Sirius' demonstration of how good they already were at the subject had really irritated to me. I had been trying for an hour solid to change the colour of any part of my body and I just could not do it. I was exasperated. I heard footsteps approaching the quiet corner I had cleared for myself in the library. I looked up to see Nathaniel sauntering over.

'You ran away from dinner quickly,' he stated, taking a seat next to me. 'You're not telling me you're already inundated with homework?'

I shook my head and let my eyes brush over a few pages of A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration. I wanted to throw the book out of the window already. 'Just trying to get ahead.'

'Well,' he closed my book over and leaned in towards me. 'Why don't you take a quick study break.'

Ugh, I really do not have the mental strength to deal with this anymore. Don't get me wrong, I do like Nathanial but one of the things that always put me off him was he was a bit of a sleaze - well a big sleaze. I feel bad, but I just used him for sex when none of the other boys were catching my eye after we finished our fleeting relationship.

'I'm not sure we should maybe do it this year, Nathaniel,' I yawned and stretched out. 'We're going into our last year, I genuinely believe we won't have the time and besides, I think I have my eye one someone.'

Lies, I told myself but I knew it would make him back off a little.

'What, you talk to Sirius Black once and now you're setting him as your next target?'

I scoffed, what an absurd accusation. 'Absolutely not!'

'Awk, Bruce,' I heard a voice behind one of the bookcases. This was so not happening to me. Sirius Black emerged from round the corner with a book in his hand and a smirk on his face. 'That really hurts, I thought we were friends?'

If I could have screamed in frustration without Madam Pince throwing me out, I honestly would have.

Lyrics at the beginning The Story of Us - Taylor Swift.

Hi I didn't want to say much in the first chapter because i just wanted to see how people reacted! I was surprised but it excited me so I'M already on the third chapter!

I'm going to try upload every Saturday/Sunday hopefully. I work full time so I just write when I get a minute. Hope you enjoy and please tell me all what you think!

Thanks,

A x