A/N: - This is my first attempt at writing romance, so don't expect anything too fantastic. I intend for this to be kind of romantic comedy, but we'll see how it goes. It's set in MWPP's sixth year at Hogwarts. Please read and review, and tell me if you think I've got Sirius' character right, because I'm not too sure. In book3 him and James were described to be kind of like Fred and George, so I've worked from that. Arabella is my own character developed from the name given at the end of book4. I'm aware she may be similar to other people's Arabella but I really don't care. She's been wondering around in my head for months and as far as I'm concerned she's my character! OK, I'm babbling now so I'll shut up.
Disclaimer: All of this belongs to the wonderful person JK Rowling, except my interpretation
CHAPTER ONE
For the third night in a row, Arabella Figg was sitting alone by the last remaining scorching red coals in the Gryffindor common room fireplace. Yet again she was the last Gryffindor student to retreat to her dormitory for sleep. She had surrounded herself by bulky Defence Against The Dark Arts text books and had been studying hard for four hours ready for her Auror Training Entrance Exam which she would take in a few days time. Arabella always studied incredibly hard for her exams, but she had never wanted to pass something so badly. Arabella admired greatly the Aurors she knew for their remarkable courage against the Dark Side, and how they made a real difference to lives. To follow in their footsteps had always been her dream, but it would never happen if Arabella failed the exam.
Arabella gave a deep sigh as she flicked a stray lock of long dark hair behind her ear. The flickering light cast on her by the dwindling flames of the fire revealed how exhausted all of her features appeared. Her usual flawlessly pretty face was ashen and her normally vivid blue eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle with shadows underneath them. Arabella yawned and glanced at her wristwatch. It was three o' clock in the morning.
Arabella turned the four hundredth page of One Thousand And One Curses and Counter-Curses just as she heard footsteps drift down from the staircase leading to the sixth-year boys dormitory. She looked up to see the pyjama-clad figure of Sirius Black lingering in the doorway.
"Oh, I didn't know anybody else was still here," Sirius said. "I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come sit by the fire for a while."
"Take a seat," Arabella said, gesturing towards one of the comfortable armchairs opposite her. Sirius sat down and sat in silence, gazing at the shrinking blaze. Arabella grinned to herself after a minute or so; it must have been the longest period of time in ages that her and Sirius had sat together without blasted sarcasm and snide remarks at each other. She turned back to her notes on The Unforgivable Curses, which she was revising for at least the ninth time. When she looked up again, Sirius was staring not at the fire but at her. They shared eye contact for about thirty seconds before Arabella raised her eyebrows and snapped, "What?"
Sirius seemed to snap out at some sort of trance at the sound of that word. "You should go up to bed," he said. "You look exhausted."
"I'll go up to bed when I'm ready, not when you say so," Arabella declared huffily. It looked like it was back to the usual bickering between her and Sirius.
"I'm just voicing my concern," Sirius said, frowning. "You're working too hard."
"Are you saying I can't cope?" Arabella contended. "Just because I care about my future -"
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Bell!" Sirius exploded, getting to his feet. "I try and be nice to you and you still jump down my throat! There's just no pleasing you -"
Arabella stood up suddenly, knocking several books to the floor. She narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Would you shut up? You'll wake the whole of Gryffindor -"
"Do you think I care? It's about time someone told you how bitchy you can be -"
"How dare you! You and James have been playing your stupid practical jokes on me for six years and you expect me to be all nice and friendly towards you -"
"Just because you have no sense of humour -"
"You can't take anything seriously -"
"That's better than taking EVERYTHING seriously!"
"You know what? I don't care what you think, Sirius Black! I hate you!"
"I HATE YOU TOO!"
There was an uneasy silence as Sirius and Arabella glared in disgust at one another, both slightly out of breath from shouting so much. Sirius stepped closer to her, still glowering at her. He was about to holler another insult towards the girl who had talked down to him and made him feel small and insignificant for six years. He was going to tell her how many times he had wanted to perform a hideously awful curse on her, which would make her skin crawl and her pretty little face break out in repulsive green boils. Only something stopped him. Those shimmering sapphire eyes were gazing at him, and he couldn't do it. All the hostility that had been swelling up for years suddenly vanished.
Arabella looked into his deep brown eyes and felt herself trembling. She was no longer quaking with anger, but quivering with another strong emotion that she didn't fully understand. She lowered her eyes and realised with surprise that Sirius had placed his hand in hers. She glanced up again and he seemed to be suddenly incredibly close. She could feel his heart pounding at an equally rapid pace to hers, and she could sense his breath dancing softly on the side of her face. Her eyes met with his again, and Arabella smiled. She leaned closer to Sirius, but he backed away.
"I should go back to my dormitory," he said gruffly, and turned away. His cheeks reddened as he realised he was still clutching Arabella's hand. He reluctantly let go and walked away, leaving Arabella standing alone, downheartedly staring at the ground. She smirked to herself and bit her lip. Was this really happening? Was she falling for the boy who had been aggravating her with his stupidity and immaturity since her first-year? Arabella sighed.
"I hope so," she whispered, in answer to her own question as she gathered up her books and wandered up to bed.