Part Two:
I met her on the Hogwarts Express. My first time heading to the school. I was scared out of my mind, but was trying to keep a cool front. I met some other boys my age: I was sitting with James Potter and Remus Lupin in their compartment, trading chocolate frogs and laughing. Then there was Severus Snape...
He'd just finished bothering us, the slimeball, and was walking out after James threatened to turn him into a pumpkin. When Snape was out of earshot, I asked in amazement, "Can you really do that?"
"No," James said with a laugh, stuffing his wand back into his pocket. "But that's okay, I will eventually..."
Suddenly, I saw her: a tall girl with short brown hair and piercing eyes and same color as the chocolate frogs passed by our compartment. She looked in the window, curious as she heard the sound of laughter. I caught her eye, and she smiled and walked on.
Hours later, we were sorted into our houses. Remus, James, and I were all in Gryffindor.
So was the girl.
She was actually a year ahead of us, second. An older woman, I thought. I sat as close to her as I could during the feast. I kept trying to catch her eye, and she would smile at me.
When the feast was over, the first years were called to follow the prefects. I ignored them, waving at my classmates to go on, I wanted to finish my pudding. But about ten minutes later, I regretted it: I was all alone, and I had no idea where the Gryffindor common room was.
Suddenly, she appeared. "Are you lost?" she asked, smiling at my dispense. I tried to be cool.
"No, of course not..."
"Great, see ya..."
"Wait!" I called, walking after her. "Actually...do you know where the common room is?"
She smiled again. "Come with me."
I found out that her name was Isabella Ricktor, and I noticed that she had a habit of wrapping a short strand of hair around her little finger.
We reached the portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. "Cornonolla," she said, and the picture swung open. She explained that you have to know a password to get into the common room. "So the other houses can't get in. But look out: it changes every few months."
"Thanks," I said. The common room was emptying out: kids wanted to settle into their dormitories before classes the next day. "Well...good night."
"Wait!" she called, just as I had before. I turned around. She was twirling that same strand of hair with her pinkie. I was facinated.
"Yeah?"
She came over to me. "You...never told me your name."
"Black," I said with what I hoped was a mysterious smile. "Sirius Black."
"Okay, Black...Sirius Black," she said. "Good night. See you tomorrow." She walked away, turning her head once and, I could've sworn, she winked.
I bragged to the boys in my dormitory about the hot year two girl that helped me get back to the tower. James elbowed me and said, "Way to go, man,", Remus smiled, not really knowing what to say, and Pettigrew (that son of a bitch), looked mildly embarressed.
The next day, I found Isabella waiting for me in the common room. "Hi, Sirius. I thought we might, you know, walk down to breakfast together?"
"Sure," I said, loving the looks I was getting from the first, second, and even some third year boys. I even slipped my arm around her waist, as if to say, hey, look, you losers. My first day here and I've sacked a girl.
But things went bad from the start. Sure, she was good a kissing and all: they weren't the little pecks I'd gotten from Sicilia and Willow. But she was also very clingy. She wanted me to walk her to class and carry her bag, which was heavy. She followed me to the Owlery when I tried sending letters to family. She sat next to me, listening in almost an annoying way as I tried to talk to my friends about Quiditch.
Finally, enough was enough. Right before Halloween, I had to break it off. James was shocked. "Dude, she's the hottest underclassman in Gryffindor! You can't break up with her."
I shook my head. "I gotta, James. She's getting really annoying..."
I didn't get up the nerve until right before the Halloween feast. "Come on, Sirius," she said as she knocked on the door of my dormitory. "We gotta hurry, the feast is about to start!"
The dormitory was empty: the other guys had long since left. I knew that we would be alone...
"Come on in, I'm almost ready."
Isabella came in, grinning. "Come on, Mr. Primadonna. You look absolutely perfect." She leaned in to kiss me.
Now or never...
I backed away. "Isabella...we need to talk."
She stepped back. "Um...okay..."
"I think we should, you know, break up."
"What?"
"I don't think I'm ready...you know, for a relationship..."
"I don't believe this!" she whispered, her eyes narrowing.
"Isabella, I-"
"I knew it!" she cried. "I knew you were too immature for a relationship!"
"I'm eleven! What do you expect!"
"Oh!" She stormed out of the room, slamming the door. I looked in the mirror, sighed in relief, and went down to the feast...
***********
Isabella wasn't the only girlfriend I had my first year. I took a few months hiatus from girls, but that all changed after a bad lesson in Transfiguration...
"A "D"!" I exclaimed, showing James and the others my paper. "I can't believe I got a "D"!"
"Whoa, it's no big deal," James said with a shrug. "I mean, I didn't do too hot either..."
"What, only an "E" for you?" I said with disgust. "And what about you Remus?"
He sighed. "It wasn't like it was an important test, Sirius..."
"So you got an "E" too, eh?"
"Sirius, I got a "D"..."
"Well, you're an idiot, Pettigrew," I said angrily. The pudgy little wannabe shrank back.
Suddenly, I spotted her. The Little-Miss-Know-It-All of the class, Ariande McPierson, was walking away with her friends. I caught sight of her paper...an "O"!
I grinned, coming up with an idea. James and Remus wouldn't let me copy their notes, and Pettigrew wasn't worth bothering with. But if I could get Ariande to...
"I'll see you guys in a second," I said, hurrying to catch up with her. She, too, had separated from her friends. While everyone eles headed to lunch, she seemed to be going back to Gryffindor Tower.
"Ariande?"
She turned around, and narrowed her eyes at me. For a brain, she wasn't exactly a troll: she had dark eyes, almost black, with gold shimmers in them. Her dark hair was in a high bun: she was a little Professor McGonagall.
"It's Annie," she said in a cold voice.
"Pardon?"
"Only my grandparents call me by that name," she said, her voice full of loathing. "Everyone eles calls me Annie."
I let out a fake sigh of relief. "Good. That name of yours was looking too hard for me."
She bit her lip to prevent a smile. I had her...
I offered to carry her books back to the tower for her. "So, why aren't you going to lunch?"
"The History of Magic test is afterwards, and I want to go over my notes."
I thought I'd struck gold. I was starting to tank in that class, too. "Yeah, me, too. So...wanna study together?"
And with a little sweet talk, I practically got her to hand her notes over to me. "Thanks so much for studying with me. You're a much better teacher then that old bat..."
She giggled. "Well, I just have to pinch myself every once in awhile to stay awake."
I laughed. This girl, being a little brain and all, was actually kind of cool.
This went on for a couple of months, until just before exams. It was all James' fault that it ended. I actually liked Annie...a lot, actually. But for all the other guys knew, I was only "putting up" with her to get a hold of her notes.
It was after Defense Against the Dark Arts one day, and we'd just gotten the results from a particularly nasty test. James was moaning about his "D". "So...what'd you get, Sirius?"
"Oh, just a..." I had to fight to keep my grin back as James snatched my paper.
"Blimey! Sirius got an "E"!"
Remus snatched my paper, glanced it, and said, "Well done." Pettigrew, the pathetic slime, looked quite impressed. James, of course, was jealous.
"Got that little girlfriend of yours to hand over your notes again, did you?"
"Shhhhh!" I hissed, looking around. "Shut up!" James laughed.
"Don't worry, Annie isn't even around! She had to go to the hospital wing after that potions accident, remember?"
"I should probably go and see her...after lunch," I decided. "A good excuse to miss some of charms..."
So after stuffing my face full of whatever, I went up to the hospital wing, like a devoted little boyfriend. Annie's friend Nancy was just leaving, and I swore that she shot me a dirty look on the way out. "Bitch," I mumbled under my breath.
I put on a smile for my girlfriend, who was laying in a bed. "Looks like Madam Pomfrey made the swelling go down." That moron Severus Snape had knocked over a cauldren full of a growing potion, splashing it on some of the other kids in the class. But of course, it had been me who had to clean it up.
Annie didn't return the smile as I sat down. She frowned at me. "Nancy just told me something...interesting."
"Oh?" I fiddled with the strapes on my bag.
"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Um...she heard you and your friends talking, after Defense Against the Dark Arts."
I could feel my blood run cold. "And...?" I knew what she was going to say.
"So you've been using me for my notes, have you?" Her voice was calm and cold, and sent shivers through me.
"No!"
"Well, that's what it sounded like to Nancy." She gave me a really dirty look. "I should've known that's why you wanted to go out with me. It's not like you think I'm pretty or anything..."
"That's not true, Annie!"
She snorted. "I know your type. You think you're so great, just because you're cute and charming. Well you know what, Black? I fell for your act...but not anymore."
"Annie, please-"
"As far as you're concerned, my name is Ariande." Her voice didn't go up. She was speaking very quietly. But all the other victims of the potions accident was staring over at us.
"An-"
"Get out of my sight, Black."
I had no choice. I got up and left. Not a word. Didn't know what to say. Because the truth was...I'd really liked that girl. The notes thing was what it had been about in the beginning, but it turned into more...
But I guess it didn't matter anymore.
I met her on the Hogwarts Express. My first time heading to the school. I was scared out of my mind, but was trying to keep a cool front. I met some other boys my age: I was sitting with James Potter and Remus Lupin in their compartment, trading chocolate frogs and laughing. Then there was Severus Snape...
He'd just finished bothering us, the slimeball, and was walking out after James threatened to turn him into a pumpkin. When Snape was out of earshot, I asked in amazement, "Can you really do that?"
"No," James said with a laugh, stuffing his wand back into his pocket. "But that's okay, I will eventually..."
Suddenly, I saw her: a tall girl with short brown hair and piercing eyes and same color as the chocolate frogs passed by our compartment. She looked in the window, curious as she heard the sound of laughter. I caught her eye, and she smiled and walked on.
Hours later, we were sorted into our houses. Remus, James, and I were all in Gryffindor.
So was the girl.
She was actually a year ahead of us, second. An older woman, I thought. I sat as close to her as I could during the feast. I kept trying to catch her eye, and she would smile at me.
When the feast was over, the first years were called to follow the prefects. I ignored them, waving at my classmates to go on, I wanted to finish my pudding. But about ten minutes later, I regretted it: I was all alone, and I had no idea where the Gryffindor common room was.
Suddenly, she appeared. "Are you lost?" she asked, smiling at my dispense. I tried to be cool.
"No, of course not..."
"Great, see ya..."
"Wait!" I called, walking after her. "Actually...do you know where the common room is?"
She smiled again. "Come with me."
I found out that her name was Isabella Ricktor, and I noticed that she had a habit of wrapping a short strand of hair around her little finger.
We reached the portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. "Cornonolla," she said, and the picture swung open. She explained that you have to know a password to get into the common room. "So the other houses can't get in. But look out: it changes every few months."
"Thanks," I said. The common room was emptying out: kids wanted to settle into their dormitories before classes the next day. "Well...good night."
"Wait!" she called, just as I had before. I turned around. She was twirling that same strand of hair with her pinkie. I was facinated.
"Yeah?"
She came over to me. "You...never told me your name."
"Black," I said with what I hoped was a mysterious smile. "Sirius Black."
"Okay, Black...Sirius Black," she said. "Good night. See you tomorrow." She walked away, turning her head once and, I could've sworn, she winked.
I bragged to the boys in my dormitory about the hot year two girl that helped me get back to the tower. James elbowed me and said, "Way to go, man,", Remus smiled, not really knowing what to say, and Pettigrew (that son of a bitch), looked mildly embarressed.
The next day, I found Isabella waiting for me in the common room. "Hi, Sirius. I thought we might, you know, walk down to breakfast together?"
"Sure," I said, loving the looks I was getting from the first, second, and even some third year boys. I even slipped my arm around her waist, as if to say, hey, look, you losers. My first day here and I've sacked a girl.
But things went bad from the start. Sure, she was good a kissing and all: they weren't the little pecks I'd gotten from Sicilia and Willow. But she was also very clingy. She wanted me to walk her to class and carry her bag, which was heavy. She followed me to the Owlery when I tried sending letters to family. She sat next to me, listening in almost an annoying way as I tried to talk to my friends about Quiditch.
Finally, enough was enough. Right before Halloween, I had to break it off. James was shocked. "Dude, she's the hottest underclassman in Gryffindor! You can't break up with her."
I shook my head. "I gotta, James. She's getting really annoying..."
I didn't get up the nerve until right before the Halloween feast. "Come on, Sirius," she said as she knocked on the door of my dormitory. "We gotta hurry, the feast is about to start!"
The dormitory was empty: the other guys had long since left. I knew that we would be alone...
"Come on in, I'm almost ready."
Isabella came in, grinning. "Come on, Mr. Primadonna. You look absolutely perfect." She leaned in to kiss me.
Now or never...
I backed away. "Isabella...we need to talk."
She stepped back. "Um...okay..."
"I think we should, you know, break up."
"What?"
"I don't think I'm ready...you know, for a relationship..."
"I don't believe this!" she whispered, her eyes narrowing.
"Isabella, I-"
"I knew it!" she cried. "I knew you were too immature for a relationship!"
"I'm eleven! What do you expect!"
"Oh!" She stormed out of the room, slamming the door. I looked in the mirror, sighed in relief, and went down to the feast...
***********
Isabella wasn't the only girlfriend I had my first year. I took a few months hiatus from girls, but that all changed after a bad lesson in Transfiguration...
"A "D"!" I exclaimed, showing James and the others my paper. "I can't believe I got a "D"!"
"Whoa, it's no big deal," James said with a shrug. "I mean, I didn't do too hot either..."
"What, only an "E" for you?" I said with disgust. "And what about you Remus?"
He sighed. "It wasn't like it was an important test, Sirius..."
"So you got an "E" too, eh?"
"Sirius, I got a "D"..."
"Well, you're an idiot, Pettigrew," I said angrily. The pudgy little wannabe shrank back.
Suddenly, I spotted her. The Little-Miss-Know-It-All of the class, Ariande McPierson, was walking away with her friends. I caught sight of her paper...an "O"!
I grinned, coming up with an idea. James and Remus wouldn't let me copy their notes, and Pettigrew wasn't worth bothering with. But if I could get Ariande to...
"I'll see you guys in a second," I said, hurrying to catch up with her. She, too, had separated from her friends. While everyone eles headed to lunch, she seemed to be going back to Gryffindor Tower.
"Ariande?"
She turned around, and narrowed her eyes at me. For a brain, she wasn't exactly a troll: she had dark eyes, almost black, with gold shimmers in them. Her dark hair was in a high bun: she was a little Professor McGonagall.
"It's Annie," she said in a cold voice.
"Pardon?"
"Only my grandparents call me by that name," she said, her voice full of loathing. "Everyone eles calls me Annie."
I let out a fake sigh of relief. "Good. That name of yours was looking too hard for me."
She bit her lip to prevent a smile. I had her...
I offered to carry her books back to the tower for her. "So, why aren't you going to lunch?"
"The History of Magic test is afterwards, and I want to go over my notes."
I thought I'd struck gold. I was starting to tank in that class, too. "Yeah, me, too. So...wanna study together?"
And with a little sweet talk, I practically got her to hand her notes over to me. "Thanks so much for studying with me. You're a much better teacher then that old bat..."
She giggled. "Well, I just have to pinch myself every once in awhile to stay awake."
I laughed. This girl, being a little brain and all, was actually kind of cool.
This went on for a couple of months, until just before exams. It was all James' fault that it ended. I actually liked Annie...a lot, actually. But for all the other guys knew, I was only "putting up" with her to get a hold of her notes.
It was after Defense Against the Dark Arts one day, and we'd just gotten the results from a particularly nasty test. James was moaning about his "D". "So...what'd you get, Sirius?"
"Oh, just a..." I had to fight to keep my grin back as James snatched my paper.
"Blimey! Sirius got an "E"!"
Remus snatched my paper, glanced it, and said, "Well done." Pettigrew, the pathetic slime, looked quite impressed. James, of course, was jealous.
"Got that little girlfriend of yours to hand over your notes again, did you?"
"Shhhhh!" I hissed, looking around. "Shut up!" James laughed.
"Don't worry, Annie isn't even around! She had to go to the hospital wing after that potions accident, remember?"
"I should probably go and see her...after lunch," I decided. "A good excuse to miss some of charms..."
So after stuffing my face full of whatever, I went up to the hospital wing, like a devoted little boyfriend. Annie's friend Nancy was just leaving, and I swore that she shot me a dirty look on the way out. "Bitch," I mumbled under my breath.
I put on a smile for my girlfriend, who was laying in a bed. "Looks like Madam Pomfrey made the swelling go down." That moron Severus Snape had knocked over a cauldren full of a growing potion, splashing it on some of the other kids in the class. But of course, it had been me who had to clean it up.
Annie didn't return the smile as I sat down. She frowned at me. "Nancy just told me something...interesting."
"Oh?" I fiddled with the strapes on my bag.
"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Um...she heard you and your friends talking, after Defense Against the Dark Arts."
I could feel my blood run cold. "And...?" I knew what she was going to say.
"So you've been using me for my notes, have you?" Her voice was calm and cold, and sent shivers through me.
"No!"
"Well, that's what it sounded like to Nancy." She gave me a really dirty look. "I should've known that's why you wanted to go out with me. It's not like you think I'm pretty or anything..."
"That's not true, Annie!"
She snorted. "I know your type. You think you're so great, just because you're cute and charming. Well you know what, Black? I fell for your act...but not anymore."
"Annie, please-"
"As far as you're concerned, my name is Ariande." Her voice didn't go up. She was speaking very quietly. But all the other victims of the potions accident was staring over at us.
"An-"
"Get out of my sight, Black."
I had no choice. I got up and left. Not a word. Didn't know what to say. Because the truth was...I'd really liked that girl. The notes thing was what it had been about in the beginning, but it turned into more...
But I guess it didn't matter anymore.
