Lily Evans was going to kill me, and I hadn't even done anything wrong – at least not today. Okay, not since breakfast, but I swear, Severus Snape had it coming. And besides, nobody would have guessed that I, a prefect, would have caused that oatmeal to shoot out of his nose, right?

She could be upset over the fact that I was supposed to be on patrol, and yet there was clearly a student out of bed that had slipped past me while I was…resting my eyes. I'd heard a huge crash come from the trophy room behind me, which only had one entrance and I happened to be sitting right in front of it. So clearly, someone had gotten lucky and slipped right past me.

I got to my feet with a groan, pulling my wand out of my robe pocket and casting Lumos so I could see what I was doing. I crept up to the doorway, pushing the door open slowly so that it wouldn't creak. I heard something rustling, and someone talking in hushed tones from the center of the room. I got the door open wide enough that the voices became discernible.

"Come on, Wormy, hold you wand higher, I can't see what I'm doing," someone whispered, annoyed. Their backs were to me, but I could see that one boy was much taller than the other, long black hair falling in waves to his shoulders, while the other boy was short and stout, holding a wand as high as he could. The first boy kept muttering something under his breath, and jabbing his wand at something in a small trophy case.

"This is as high as I can go, Padfoot," the smaller boy sighed indignantly, raising himself slightly on his tiptoes.

The first boy sighed more audibly, but nodded his head. "It's alright…I've…almost…got it!" he finished triumphantly, turning swiftly on his heels so that he was now facing the doorway that I happened to be framed in. "Shit," he cursed, the self-satisfied grin fading slowly from his face, as his eyes darted quickly to the side where a pool of silvery fabric lay bunched on the floor, not three feet from him.

"Errr…hello," I said awkwardly, leaning against the doorframe.

Sirius Black took a step forward, his hands help up, while Peter Pettigrew whimpered behind him, his beady eyes wide in panic. Sirius appraised me cooly, grey eyes meeting my brown ones briefly before trailing away. He looked completely indifferent to having been caught, as though I was merely an inconvenience to him, and he'd like nothing more than to get back to bed now that he had apparently succeeded in doing whatever it was he had been doing.

I took a step forward, and he took a step backwards, pulling Peter with him. "You're supposed to be in bed," I began lamely, walking closer to them two so that I could begin to see what they'd been working on. It was the Head Boy and Girl trophy case; a glass case that had several plaques with the names and years of all of the previous Head Boys and Girls etched into it.

"And you're supposed to be awake on patrol," Black shot back, his voice emotionless.

I nodded once in acknowledgement. "I was mostly awake," I said half-heartedly, before walking up to the trophy case properly to take a look. It took me a moment to see what they had done; there in the the spot that indicated the current Head Boy and Girl, which should have read,

Lily Evans

Head Girl

James Potter

Head Boy

Now read,

Lily Evans

Head Girl

James Potter

Head Prat

I pushed down my snort of amusement, guessing that it would take away any remaining credibility I had left, and turned to face the two boys saying, "I'm going to have to…"

But the space where the two boys had been standing just seconds before, was empty. The boys were gone. I frowned and examined every corner of the room, but found nothing. There was no way they could have left the room without me hearing them; their footsteps would have echoed. And yet, they were gone.

"You need to get more sleep, Frankie," I said to myself, shaking my head, before turning to leave the room. I waited outside for a good fifteen minutes, as though they were suddenly going to appear out of thin air, before giving up and deciding that I must have dreamed the entire interaction. Besides, my shift was over, and I was so very tired.


The next morning, I was sitting down to a nice breakfast with Bertram and Florence, excited about the peach scones that the house elves had put out this morning, when I heard the tell-tale screeches of Lily Evans coming from the Entrance Hall. I groaned, slumping down in my seat and attempting to hide behind Bertram's wide frame. I knew it was unlikely to work, however, given that the Great Hall was mostly empty. We liked to be early so that we could get the pastries while they were still warm. I'd been seen in an instant, and I really wasn't in the mood to deal with an angry Lily Evans this early in the morning.

Bertram shot me a concerned look, before looking over his shoulder at the great wooden door that had just opened. Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew came in, all looking rather harassed. To be specific, Lupin, Pettigrew and Black looked harassed, Evans looked murderous and Potter looked amused.

"What do you mean you don't know who could have done it?" Evans screamed, her voice echoing throughout the empty hall. "It's your name that's been desecrated."

"Come on, Lily," James said, laughing good-naturedly. "Desecrated is maybe a bit over dramatic, don't you think? It's a laugh. It doesn't bother me at all, and besides, Professor Flitwick will have it fixed in a second."

"Oh, I'm so happy you find someone vandalizing our plaque to be a laugh, but I actually worked hard for this position and don't like having to be associated with you and one of your laughs," Lily said snootily, all but stomping her foot in anger. I rolled my eyes at Florence; it was far too early in the morning for this level of dramatics. Besides – it had been a laugh. And a damn good show of charm work, to boot. Flor chuckled, knowing of my distaste for dramatics. It wasn't that Lily Evans wasn't nice – she was extremely kind and likable. She just had a flair for dramatics, particularly when it came to James Potter, who was somehow, inexplicably, in love with her. I found it to be grating at times, especially when I was trying to enjoy my breakfast. Or any meal, honestly.

"Lily, look, if I knew who'd done it, I'd make sure they were punished, but we have no way of knowing!" James said calmly.

Lily pursed her lips, before turning abruptly towards the Hufflepuff table – specifically towards me. "Russo, you were patrolling the fourth floor last night, weren't you?" She demanded, marching over towards me. I saw Black and Pettigrew exchange quick glances, as they and the rest of the Marauders trudged behind Lily reluctantly.

"Good morning, Evans," I said brightly. "Lovely day, isn't it? Should be great weather for a walk around the lake later; and we might not get many more of those days for a while, so I for one am going to rather enjoy it…" I stopped abruptly, wincing in pain as Flor kicked me in an attempt to stem the babbling.

"Good morning," Lily said dismissively. "Were you on patrol last night?"

"Well, yeah," I said chuckling nervously. "I was scheduled, wasn't I?"

Potter smiled kindly, before leaning around Lily, who was leaning down with both hands on the table so she could lean all the way across it and glare at me. "Did you happen to see anything last night, Russo? Anything out of the ordinary?"

My eyes darted to Black's imperceptibly, and I saw that he was glaring at me icily, his eyes narrowed to slits. Pettigrew looked terrified. I cleared my throat and shook my head, deciding on the spot that I wasn't going to admit I'd seen the two and let them get away.

"Nothing at all?" Lily demanded disbelievingly. "How could someone have gotten past you?"

"I'm not sure, Evans. Perhaps they did it early this morning, after I'd gone to bed. But I hadn't seen anything before I went back to my common room, and I didn't hear anything from the Trophy Room either," I lied, looking her straight in the eyes and not wavering.

Without another word, she pushed herself off the table and whirled around back towards the Gryffindor table, hitting James in the face with her long red hair. She huffed away without so much as a backwards glance, while James looked down at me. He smiled awkwardly, rubbing a hand through the back of his hair. "Sorry about that, Russo," he chuckled. "Someone charmed the plaque in the Trophy Room to read Head Prat, and she's kind of lost the plot."

"Obviously," Bertram said, glaring at Potter in dislike. "That is damn funny, though. And accurate," he said cooly. A couple of years ago, Black and Potter had hit Bertram with some sort of illegal hex, which had caused his head to swell to several times its normal size, and he'd never forgiven them for it. It had been particularly awful, and painful to reduce the swelling. They'd received double detention for it though, but it wasn't enough for Bertram.

James nodded again awkwardly, before he turned and walked towards the Gryffindor table. He and the rest of the Marauders sat a good distance away from Lily and her friends, and soon resumed their day as normal – which included a fair amount of laughter and raucousness. I did notice that Black hadn't seemed to join in with his friends, but instead had sat down facing me, and was staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. I lowered my eyes back towards my plate, face heating,

"What the hell was that all about?" Flor asked conversationally, turning back towards me and resuming drinking her tea.

I shrugged, not sure why I wasn't telling her and Bertram about what had happened last night. For some reason, Sirius Black intimidated me. He was incredibly smart, top of the year in nearly every class despite never cracking a book, and as cool as anyone in this school. He was one of the two ringleaders of the Marauders, the Gryffindor pack of boys who caused more trouble than anyone else in Hogwarts, and although they'd spent more time in detention than anyone in the history of the school, were still favored by the teachers because of their top marks and charm. To top it off, Black was bloody beautiful – wavy black hair, olive skin, grey eyes, aristocratic features. You could practically eat dinner off of his cheekbones, they were that sharp. And yet, where the other boys were open and friendly, even Pettigrew, Black was standoffish and cold. He could be cruel, particularly to girls who tried to ask him out. Despite being the most sought after boy in the school, he couldn't be bothered to give any girl an ounce of his attention. It was as though he was too good for anyone, and knew it.

"I hate them," Bertram grumbled, slamming down his cup of pumpkin juice with more force than necessary. "Coming over here, acting all friendly. Everyone knows what they are – bullies. Nothing less."

Flor and I nodded along, not willing to get into this fight with him again. Nothing anyone said changed his mind, despite the fact that Potter was now Head Boy and had seemed to cut back on his bullying tremendously. Besides, it wasn't like Severus Snape didn't give as good as he got, but Bertram was too far gone to speak any sense into.

By the time we were ready to leave, the Great Hall had filled with students rushing in for a quick breakfast before first lesson. We had Herbology first, so left early to give ourselves enough time to get down to the greenhouses. As we left, I had the distinct impression that someone was watching me, their eyes following me as we walked down the Hufflepuff table towards the doors. Just as we walked through the doorway into the Entrance Hall, I turned around surreptitiously, only to lock eyes with Sirius Black, who was still glaring at me with eyes full of hatred. I stopped for a second, taken aback. What on Earth had I down to earn such hatred? Hadn't I protected his midnight traipse last night, so he wouldn't get in trouble?

I shook my head, burying those thoughts. There was no use worrying about something that I wasn't sure about, and that I couldn't change even if I was. I turned on my heel, following after Flor and Bertram, onto the grounds and down the path towards the greenhouses.

"Frankie, did you remember to send an owl to your brother yesterday?" Flor asked suddenly, as she hopped over a small boulder that was in her way.

I groaned and pulled my bag towards me, rustling through it until I pulled out a sealed letter, that I obviously had not remembered to mail yesterday. I held it out in front of me timidly, sending Flor a cheeky grin.

"Frankie!" She sighed. "I really need an answer and your brother is the only person I know who works for the Ministry. Promise me you'll send it out on free period?"

"Yeah, Flor, I promise," I agreed, already dreading the hike up to the owlery. My brother, Oscar, worked in the Department of Transportation, an entry level position, but Flor still thought he might be able to help her get her foot in the door. She wanted to work in the Department of International Relations, and nothing I'd said to convince her that Oscar had no connections yet, just barely a full year out of school, had been able to get her to drop the subject. I knew that Oscar was just going to tell me that he would try his best, but doubted he'd have any leverage, but Flor was my best friend and I had to at least try.

It wasn't until much later that night, after an evening of cramming together a fifteen inch essay on Polyjuice Potion for Professor Slughorn, that I remembered I still had to mail the letter. Knowing that Flor was likely to kill me if I put it off another day, I reluctantly gathered my stuff together, and told Bertram I would meet him back in the common room in a bit. He waved me off, his head stuck in his book on poisonous amphibians, and I snuck out of the library quickly.

I glanced at my watch. I had thirty minutes before curfew, and I had at least a fifteen minute trek to the owlery in front of me. I picked up the pace, nearly jogging by the time I hit the bottom of the steps. As I rushed upstairs, I began rummaging through my bag for the letter so I could just attach it to one of the school's owls and quickly leave. My head was buried in my bag, and I wasn't watching where I was going. I bumped in to something hard, my head hitting what felt like stone. I lost my footing on the old stone steps, nearly losing my balance and slipping, but someone reached out and grabbed my arm, steadying me. Their grip was tight, almost painful, and I looked up quickly to thank whoever it was.

Grey eyes. Just my luck. I wrenched my arm out of his grasp, somewhat ungratefully, and dusted off imaginary dust from my robes. "Black," I acknowledged with a nod. "Thank you."

He nodded once, his mouth set in a thin line. He brushed past me without a word, making his way downstairs. His robes brushed against my shoulder, and I shuddered, although it wasn't cold in the castle yet. I stayed where I was for a second, before shaking my head and continuing upstairs. I'd just reached the top when I heard from behind me, "Why'd you do it?"

I turned. Black stood at the bottom of the steps, staring up at me. He almost looked mad, although again I couldn't fathom why he would be. "What?" I asked dumbly.

He sighed, clearly irritated. "Why didn't you tell Evans it was us?"

Oh. I didn't really have an answer for him, so I just shrugged. When he continued to glare at me, I felt like I had to say something. "You weren't hurting anyone, right? I mean it was just a laugh. Besides, she can be a little…" I trailed off, not wanting to insult the woman that his best friend was in love with in front of him.

"Yeah," he said, almost to himself, "she can be a little…"

I nodded, waiting for him to say something else, but he just continued to stare at me. So I raised my letter in the air. "Anyways, I better get this mailed. We should both get back to our common rooms before curfew."

Black nodded and said, "Right."

I paused for another beat, before I waved awkwardly and walked into the owlery. As I tied my letter to a barn owl's leg, I thought to myself that that might have been the first words Sirius Black had ever said to me, despite the fact that we'd been in the same classes for seven years. I sent the owl off to my brother, glancing at my watch and realizing I was going to have to rush back to my common room.

As I rushed out the door, I again bumped in to something hard. "For Merlin's sake," I said, exasperated.

"Sorry," Black said, raising his eyebrows.

"No, I'm sorry. You startled me."

Black nodded, his face infuriatingly neutral still. I looked at him expectantly, since he'd obviously come back upstairs for a reason.

"I figured I should offer to walk you back to your common room," he said casually, shoving his hands into the pockets of the black trousers he wore.

My mouth must have dropped open in shock, because I though I detected a slight blush creep across his cheeks. "What?" I managed to croak out.

He shrugged. "It's not safe to be walking around alone at night."

"Oh, that's alright. I'll be just fine," I protested, embarrassed. Black rolled his eyes and turned out of the owlery before taking the steps downstairs quickly. I followed behind him, eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't be…well, serious, could he? It was so random, and out of character, that I followed him blindly. He didn't seem to be waiting for me, but he was leading me back in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room. Which, now that I thought about it… "How do you know where to go?"

He looked over his shoulder, a hint of amusement, perhaps, on his lips. "I know my way around this school well," he said simply, turning back around and continuing to lead the way through the various twists and turns down towards the basement.

We didn't speak again the rest of the way downstairs, until he'd stopped in front of the stack of barrels that hide the entrance to our common room. I glanced at Black, waiting for him to leave before tapping the barrel that would grant me entrance to my awaiting bed. He was standing there, waiting expectantly. I cleared my throat pointedly, but he merely chuckled.

"James and I have been covered in vinegar enough times to know the correct one to tap by now, but by all means, wait until I leave," he said cockily, raising his eyebrows cooly.

"I should take points from you for admitting to having tampered with another House's common room!" I said shrilly, although smiling in amusement at the thought of Sirius Black and James Potter covered in vinegar, our common room's defense mechanism against those who chose the wrong barrel to tap, trying to sneak entrance into our common room.

He merely rolled his eyes before his face fell into a far more serious expression. His sudden mood swing took my by surprise. "You need to be careful," he warned.

"Excuse me?" I asked, indignantly.

"The castle isn't safe anymore," he continued. "Not for…"

"For what?" I interrupted, calmly. I cocked my head to the side. "Mudbloods?"

"Don't use that word," he snapped harshly, his eyes filling with rage.

"Why not? I'm not ashamed of it. It's who I am."

"Well there are people in this school who would very much like to hurt you because of who you are. So you need to be more careful and stop walking around at night alone. Bring that boyfriend of yours with you if you need to leave the common room after dark," he said, almost demanded.

I snorted. "Bertram is not my boyfriend. And I think I'll be perfectly fine, but I thank you for your extremely random, and oddly heart-warming concern for me," I said sarcastically.

"I'm not concerned for you," he protested, taken aback. "I just don't want…shit…it doesn't matter. Just be more careful, Russo. Nobody needs to have to save you." He looked extremely troubled by something, but I believed him when he said he wasn't concerned for me. It had nothing to do with me, if I had to guess. I just had no idea what it was about. What was he worried about…or more likely, who was he trying to protect?

I snorted again, somewhat insulted. "I can take care of myself just fine, Black. But again, thank you for your warning."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but didn't. I waited until his echoing steps had disappeared before I opened the entrance to the common room, taking the winding slope up towards the warm room, which was still full of students. I spotted Flor and Bertram in a cozy corner, tucked into yellow armchairs, a roaring fire lit behind them. I made my way over, plopping into the chair across from them, which they'd obviously held for me, given the blazing look that Amos Diggory shot my way from his seat in the worst part of the common room. It was always a little bit dark and drafty in that corner, although the rest of the room was cozy and warm.

"You okay?" Flor asked, looking up from the essay she was writing. I nodded, yawning loudly. For some reason, I still didn't mention Black, nor the bizarre interaction we'd just had outside. Somehow, it felt as though I'd seen a small part of who Sirius Black was, underneath the cool exterior. As though he'd inadvertently let me in on some secret of his; some part of himself that he hid from the rest of the world. He'd been worried about something, or someone. He'd had a reason for wanting to walk me back to my common room safely, and it had nothing to do with me.

I knew that the world outside of the castle's walls was getting more and more dangerous. Every day we read the Daily Prophet and heard of the disappearance of another muggleborn family, or the death of another powerful witch or wizard who was fighting against Lord Voldemort. He'd gone from being someone who was whispered about, like a bedtime story parents told to keep their children in line, to someone so undeniably powerful that he was an imminent threat. It was scary, knowing that there were people out there who would want to kill me because my parents were muggles – not a drop of wizarding blood ran through their veins, and yet, both my brother and I were magical.

We'd been told that it was nearly impossible for two children, not twins, to come from the same muggle parents. I remembered when Professor McGonagall had come to our house to speak to our parents about Oscar. I'd been ten years old at the time, and Professor McGonagall had explained to me that I mustn't be upset when I turned eleven and didn't get a letter. I hadn't known at the time that the strange occurrences that seemed to follow me were actually incidental instances of magic; I'd believed her when she said there was very little chance I'd get to join Oscar at Hogwarts the next year. And yet, there she was a year later, slightly shocked, but kind nonetheless. She'd said it was a "Magical Anomaly", not impossible, but improbable.

When I followed Oscar to Hogwarts, I learned that people thought we were different because our parents were muggles; I learned that people hated us for it. But things hadn't really started to get heated until the last couple of years, as Voldemort stepped out fully into the open, and near open war broke out.

I didn't believe Black though that the war had made its way into Hogwarts. We had Dumbledore, for Merlin's sake. The only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. No student was going to be stupid enough to pull something while Dumbledore was here. Black was paranoid…right?

Flor and I went up to bed not too long after, changing into our pajamas, and getting beneath our quilted bedcovers. She blew out the lamp next to her bed, and I did the same, letting my head fall back against the comfortable pillow behind me. I fell asleep dreaming of cold grey eyes, comforting myself in the fact that for now, I was safe.