(Disclaimer: I own nothing.)

Chapter Two

On the way to Transfiguration, the second year Gryffindors' first class, Hallie turned to her three best friends and stopped them in the hall. "You guys have to help me get back at bBlack."

"That rhymes!" said Lydia with a blithe smile. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes and Hallie made a noise of impatience.

"She means," said Gwen, "yes ma'am."

"Ha, ha," replied Hallie.

"Why do you need to get back at Sirius?" asked Lily with a small grin.

"Don't you look at me like that. I just have to, that's why, because he's so…so…"

"Annoying," a voice beside them finished. They turned to look at the girl. "But you must admit, he is unbearably adorable." At this, Hallie coughed but it sounded much more like a laugh. Andrea was medium sized with wavy blonde hair. Her large brown eyes sparkled and she held her head up. Hallie looked at her with a raised eyebrow while Gwen glared at her.

"Go away, Andrea."

Then Hallie said, "I think I've got an idea about how to get back at the bugger." She went on but the other girl interrupted.

"Let me help!" she said. Gwen grinned at her.

"Why should we? You're a stuck up snob." Lydia's eyes widened and she looked to her best friend in disbelief.

"Gwendolyn!" Gwen glared at her.

"I hate my name, don't use it." Lydia sighed and shook her head.

"But what Gwen says makes sense, Andrea, you haven't done anything to make us want your help. Come to think of it, you've done a lot of things that would make us not want you to help us," Lily told the girl. Hallie nodded in agreement while Lydia and Gwen continued to bicker.

"I want to get back at him. We have a little past, Sirius and I, and I want to get back at him." At these words, Hallie smiled and there was an evil glint in her eyes.

"You want to get back at Mr. Black? Well, I think we can work out something with this girl, can't we Lily?" she asked slinging an arm around her best friend and Andrea. The bell rang which made the girls scurry to class hastily. At their late arrival, Professor Jenkins took twenty-five points from Gryffindor.

Lily took a seat next to James who whispered, "Is everything alright with you?" Smiling, she nodded. He grinned back and looked to the Professor who was holding up a porcupine.

"This is a porcupine, and you will be transfiguring it into a pin cushion." Lydia blanched. She was never really good at her classes, but passed over the line with the help of her friends. Hallie smiled over at her in reassurance. Gwen smiled happily because this was her favorite class as to it was the class she was best at. Professor Jenkins paired everyone up.

Hallie, next to Lily, looked at the animal in disgust. "Why does it have those little needles on it? They're so ugly!"

"It resembles your hair," said a voice in her ear. She jumped in her seat and glared at Sirius from behind her. Lily grinned.

"It's for their protection." Hallie looked at her, then to the porcupine.

"What about teeth? Does it have teeth?" She put her finger to the line supposedly its mouth but it seemed asleep and didn't do a thing.

"Smart move, Sherlock, put your finger to its mouth to check if it has teeth," Gwen said from beside them.

Hallie looked at her with a strange expression. "Sherlock? What language are you speaking?"

Lily laughed and then saw Lydia's worried look. The girl was sitting as far away from the animal as she could go.

"Don't worry, Lydia, it won't hurt you," Lily told her consolingly. Lydia smiled but still looked worried.

"The spell that is used to turn the porcupine into a pin cushion is one in which you must concentrate with all your mind since you are beginners. Watch me transfigure it." She pointed her wand at the porcupine. Lightly tapping it once, she said, "Bodkin Pinporey!" There was a bright flash of maroon light and what was in the place of the porcupine was a pincushion, gold and crimson, the Gryffindor colors, as to she was the head of house. Every one clapped.

"Now you and your partner try it, don't forget to concentrate!" And then the students started to try to transfigure their porcupines with her strolling around the classroom watching their attempts.

When the professor had gone on to a group, he leaned over to James and said, "Why are we doing this? Does she expect us to go out and find one of these things if we need a pincushion?"

Lily looked to Hallie who was trying to touch the animal's needles. "What are you doing?" The other girl looked up and grinned sheepishly.

"Do these things come off?" Lily rolled her eyes and slapped the girl's hand away. "Ow!"

"Just try to make it turn into a porcupine." Hallie looked at the animal, then back up at her friend.

"What were the words to the spell again?" When Lily looked agitated, she said in defense, "Sorry! I was so caught up in…er, examining the little porkypine -," but got cut off beside her.

"Talk less and work harder, Miss Forester. The words to the spell, if you had been listening, are Bodkin Pinporey," said Professor Jenkins. Then the teacher walked off. Hallie glared after her muttering under her breath.

Beside her, Gwen was smirking. "She seems to like you, doesn't she Hal?" she asked. The other girl rolled her eyes heavenward and looked at the porcupine.

It was then that a yell from behind Hallie and Lily said, "Professor Jenkins! I did it! I actually did it!" Everyone turned to look at the boy who had bellowed so loudly at his success. It was none other than Sirius Black.

"My," said Hallie, "You have such a soft voice." He raised and lowered his eyebrows up and down.


"You know you love it." At this, she made a choking noise and hit him upside the head. Beside him, James laughed and shook his head. Professor Jenkins strolled over with a look upon her face of disbelief. "Oh, Professor, you don't have to look so doubtful. Look, it really is a pincushion!" She tapped it with her wand and it stuck up silver needles.

Turning to him she said, "It still has its needles on its back." He shook his head.

"Professor, Professor, Professor, I did that on purpose of course! Extra credit you can say." She raised her eyebrow at him. "Well, what is a pincushion without pins?" The teacher's mouth tugged into an involuntary smile as he grinned in victory. "So…is it an A?"

"It's an A." He jumped up and did a victory dance.

James, Lily, and Gwen were in the group of students that had successfully turned their porcupines into a pincushion. And when Professor Jenkins came to examine Hallie's, she found that it was a soft periwinkle pillow.

"It's a pillow, Miss Forester, why is it a pillow?" Hallie smiled sweetly at the teacher.

"Because pillows are so much nicer than pincushions, pillows are useful. Who sews anymore? And besides, I needed another one, mine was getting a bit lumpy." The Professor seemed exasperated. "But don't you like the color? Now that is worth and A."

~*~

After class, the girls walked out carrying their pincushions, but in Hallie's case a pillow. "Now girls, about this prank," said a voice behind them. It was Andrea again. "Hallie, your idea was okay, but what you need is a -," she broke off when there was a tap on her shoulder. It was Sirius with James at his side.

"Hi, Andrea, I saw you looking at me the whole time during Transfiguration. Do you want to go out with me?" Gwen and Hallie were holding each other up because they were laughing so hard. Sirius didn't seem to notice. Andrea looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"I was only looking at you because you are such a loud git. Leave me alone," she said, and then she marched off in a huff.

Sirius looked to the other four girls and with a smirk stated, "She wants me."

~*~

In their next class, Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Kettleburn, the four girls sat at a table by themselves, ready and inquisitive of what the creature they would be dealing with today.

Hallie and Gwen whispered to each other, both excited about a prank they were planning while Lily tried to ensure Lydia that nothing that the professor would let them handle would harm her.

"Look at that, the cage is huge, what could possibly be that big and not dangerous? It's probably a dragon!" poor Lydia squeaked. James leaned over to the two with a smile.

"Don't worry, Lydia, Professor Kettleburn's a coward, he wouldn't bring in an unruly creature," he assured her. She looked from Lily to James, then sighed with a nod, although, her eyes were still wide with fear. James laughed and patted her back while Lily hugged her around the shoulders.

"You'll be fine."

"Yeah, especially when the dragon from inside that cage jumps out and eats you," muttered Sirius from beside James. Lily glared at him when Lydia shrank in her seat with a whimper. James sighed and looked at Sirius with a bothered expression upon his face. "I said it quietly, I didn't mean for her to hear it!" he said in defense.

On the opposite side of the table, the other two girls were talking. "But she's stuck up and snobby and intolerably annoying!" exclaimed Gwen loudly. Hallie glared and the other girl sighed. "I don't like her, there's – she's just – oh bother. Never mind, I just don't like her."

"But she'll help! You know she can, I explained it once, I'll do it over and over again until you agree." Hallie smiled angelically.

"You're not so angelic."

"My smile is, and besides, I look like a perfect angel, it's good enough for me so stop complaining." With that Hallie turned around in her seat and pulled on Andrea's ponytail. "Andrea?"

The girl turned around with a frown. "You pulled my hair." The other girl smiled innocently. "Ok, what do you want?"

"Did you say you wanted to help pull something on Black?" The frown turned to a face of bravado.

"Didn't someone say that I'm stuck up and snobby and intolerably annoying?" She turned to Gwen with a raised eyebrow. Gwen opened her mouth to speak but got kicked in the shins by a certain friend. She glared at Hallie who was smiling at Andrea.

"Maybe, but I have a little plan, it isn't that good but still, I'm just hoping it'll give him a little shock. That's all I want. After that, I'll owe you." Andrea looked at her and found no guilt or holding back in the other girl's eyes so she nodded.

"What's the plan?" Hallie whispered it into her ear. The other girl laughed when everything was said. "Sounds like fun! I'm guessing you're going to do the finally?" Hallie grinned.

"You bet." Pause. "So what do you say?" There was another pause and Andrea was looking at her with a pondering gaze.

Then she said, "I'll do it."