Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot of this fan fiction, and any new characters I might create. The rest belongs to the brilliant J. K. Rowling, whom, I am sorry to say, I am quite displeases with at the moment.

A/N: 22 reviews?! Thanks so much to everyone! And thanks to all the people who give me ideas to build from!

Another important A/N: Before you read this chapter, you should know that I added a whole lot more to Ch. 8, and I changed the title to "Late Nights." So, read that before you read this, and review, please! You have been forewarned…lol.

Affection or Adventure?

Ch. 9: Promises

The air over the Hogwarts grounds dropped several degrees as October began. As the first Quidditch game of the year drew closer and closer, the captains forced their teams to train as hard as possible.

"Now," Aiden said at the end of a Tuesday night practice, "Our first match is going to be taking place on November 2nd, and-"

"We'll be playing," Penny said.

"The Slytherins." Chloe finished. "Aiden, you've told us this for the last four practices. I'm pretty sure it's been drilled into all of our brains by now, right guys?" The rest of the team nodded.

Aiden sighed. "Alright then, hit the showers."

Chloe needed to get back to the common room because she had a bunch of homework left to do, and she needed to write a letter to her parents telling them how she was. She rushed around, doing everything about ten times quicker than she usually would. She threw her hair into a pony tail, leaving a few stands astray, and ran out of the locker room.

"Hey…CHLOE!" She turned around to see Penny in the doorway she had just come out of.

"Yeah?"

"Where's the fire?" Penny said, grinning.

"I have a ton of homework to finish. What do you want?"

"I thought you might need this!" Penny took a broom out from behind her back.

"Oh, thanks a bunch!" Chloe said, grabbing her Shooting Star and running off again. "See you!"

Chloe sat down in a cozy chair by the fire about five minutes later. She was incredibly tired; every muscle in her body ached from working so hard in Quidditch practice.

At least we'll be ready for the game… She told herself, taking out her Transfiguration essay.

All of a sudden, two hands clamped themselves ever Chloe's eyes.

"Guess who…" A voice whispered in her ear.

Chloe smiled. "I have no idea." She replied.

The hands were removed from her face. "It's me, Ryan!" Chloe's brother shouted.

"What do you think you're doing, trying to scare me like that?" She asked in a mean voice.

Ryan's smirk was wiped off of his face. "I…er…"

Chloe grinned. "Get over here you little bugger!"

Ryan tried to run away, but Chloe tackled him to the ground and began tickling him.

"Get off!" Ryan was yelling while he giggled uncontrollably.

"Fine, fine…" She said, after a short while. Chloe got up and sat back down in her chair to finish her essay.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked her.

"An essay." Chloe replied.

"What about?"

"Metamorphmagi."

"What's that?"

"They are beings that can change their appearance at will."

Ryan looked confused. He opened his mouth as if to ask another question, but Chloe stopped him. "It means that they can change the way they look whenever they want to." She explained, looking down at her parchment.

"Oh…"

Chloe glanced up at him and suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

I can't believe I didn't think of this before! She said to herself.

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Sirius was sitting in a corner of the common room trying to finish his homework, which he had neglected to complete due to another full moon.

"There is no spell that can change a person into a Metamorphmagus," Sirius murmured to nobody in particular. He was saying the words as he wrote them for his Transfiguration essay. "The only way a Metamorphmagus can be created is if they are-"

"Born."

Sirius looked up rather quickly, knowing by the sound of her voice that Chloe would be standing before him.

"Hello," He said, flashing her a charming smile.

"Hi," Chloe replied, and sat down next to him. "What are you working on?"

"The essay for McGonagall…have you finished it?"

"Not yet, but almost. I was just working on it, but then I thought of something."

"Like what?"

"Well…I was just wondering…" Chloe lowered her voice considerably, and leaned towards Sirius. "Should we…well, could we tell Dumbledore about that guy who used the Cruciatus Curse on the night of the first Quidditch practice?"

"Nott?" Sirius asked. "He didn't actually use it, did he?"

Chloe looked uneasy and she started to fiddle with the golden locket that hung around her neck.

Sirius jumped up. "HE CURSED YOU?!" He practically shouted. Some students stopped chatting and turned towards him. He grinned sheepishly at them all, gave them a little wave, and they shrugged and resumed conversation.

Chloe pushed him back to the floor. "Not me!" She whispered exasperatedly. "My brother. I never told you, but before you came, those Slytherins were ganging up on him. That guy - Nott, or whatever you said his name was - used the Cruciatus Curse on him a little while after I arrived; I had Quidditch practice."

Sirius laughed. "That was the night of the full moon."

Chloe looked taken aback. "What is it with you guys and the full moon?"

"Er…nothing. Go on."

"Anyway, they were saying things to him…I think they said 'This will teach you to mess with us, Mudblood,' or something. He told me afterward that he was taunting the Slytherins about how mean and ugly they were, thinking he could get away from them fast enough. But they took out their wands too quickly for him and they…they cursed him." Chloe finished, looking down at the floor.

"Look, it's not your fault, okay?" Sirius said.

Chloe sighed. "I just think that if I had gotten there sooner-"

"No. Forget it. You didn't do it, the Slytherins did. It's their problem, not yours."

"Well, can we really go to Dumbledore? I mean, I'm positive he'd believe us, but for all he knows, we could just be trying to get the Slytherins in trouble."

"You're right. There's no proof."

"So they're just going to get away with this?" Chloe said angrily.

"Hell no! We'll get them back somehow."

"I have an invisibility cloak! I got it last year for a gift."

"So does James."

Chloe smiled. "Well, there's a start!"

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A few days passed, and the girls began to feel guilty.

"I think we should tell the Marauders about our little joke." Chloe declared before dinner one evening.

"Why?" Natalie said.

"You know, Chloe, I reckon you're right. It's getting so weird. It almost seems like James's head has actually deflated a bit. I mean, he's been acting better this year then any other, but this is different. I'm not saying it's bad…but it's just…weird!" Lily said.

"Yeah! Sirius has been treating me like a lady! Don't you see what I mean?" Chloe asked.

Penny nodded. "Remus has been acting differently, too. Well, he's always been the most sincere of the group, but not that much more than the others. He's been opening doors for me and carrying my books almost everywhere I go!"

"Right, Penny," Said Natalie, "But do we really want them to change back? It's almost like they've grown up a little…and that could be good for them. Peter is an annoying little twit, but he's being a gentleman."

"We can't just keep lying to them. Who knows? Maybe they'll stay the way they are." Penny stated.

"Penny! These are the Marauders we're talking about!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Hey, here they come! Come on, let's just get this over with…it was nice while it lasted." Chloe got up, along with Lily and Penny. Natalie followed, but only reluctantly.

The Marauders had gone to sit by the fire, as usual. There weren't many people left in the common room; most had already left for dinner.

"Hey guys?" Penny said as they come closer to the boys. They sat down and faced the boys. "We have to tell you something."

"And what would that be, Payge?" Said James, irritably. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe saw Remus kick him. "Oh…I mean…what is it, Penny?" A clearly fake smile sprouted on his lips.

"Erm…er…" Penny stammered.

"When you guys pulled that prank on us a few weeks ago, it didn't really effect us as much as you might have thought." Chloe blurted out.

"Yeah, we cried on purpose just to make you guys feel bad, but we didn't think that you were going to start worshipping us like you do now." Lily said.

Penny spoke at last. "And even though we hate to say it, we felt bad."

To Chloe's utter surprise, the boys didn't looked shocked or stunned at all. In fact, their expressions hadn't changed in the least.

All of a sudden, the boys all grinned and started clapping. Chloe's jaw dropped and she gaped at the Marauders, now howling with laughter.

Sirius spoke first. "We were wondering when you girls would come clean!"

"You…you…you…" Penny stuttered.

"Knew? Of course!" Said Remus. "You girls would have never gotten that upset over a little bit of water!"

"Plus, we heard you talking about it before breakfast on the first day of classes." James stated.

Chloe smiled a sad smile and shook her head. "Fooled by the Marauders yet again."

"We will get you back, you know…someday…" Penny said.

Lily just sighed. "Well, I'm off to dinner. Are you all coming?" She asked.

There were scattered agreements and they all got up and left the common room.

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Sirius was just about to step out of the portrait hole when he realized he had forgotten his wand.

"Hey, Prongs, I have to go grab my wand. I don't feel right without it. I'll meet you in the Great Hall."

"Okay. Are you sure you don't want me to wait for you?" James asked him.

"Nah, you go down to dinner. I'll be there in a minute. Save me a seat!"

Sirius climbed back into the common room and raced up to his room. His wand lay on his bedside table. He grabbed it and ran back down the stone steps, thinking he could probably catch up with his friends.

As the painting of the Fat Lady closed behind him, he heard a soft voice.

"So it was an act, then?" Asked Chloe. She was sitting a few feet to the right of him with her knees drawn up to her chest and her hands clamped tightly around them. Her eyes didn't leave her knees when she spoke,

"What do you mean?" Sirius said, walking towards her. Then it dawned on him.

"What you did…when…when I was cornered by those Slytherins…was it an act?" Chloe finally looked up at him, her hazel-green eyes boring into his dark blue ones, as if trying to unlock the secrets behind them.

"No, Chloe! No, of course not!" Sirius sat down beside her. "I would have helped you no matter what."

"Really?" Chloe asked, her face extremely serious.

"Really." Sirius replied. "Just because us guys pick on you girls sometimes-" Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Alright, well, most of the time…it doesn't meant that we don't care about you. I mean, we're friends, right?"

"Right." Chloe said, and smiled at him. He returned the smile and stood up. He held out his hand to help Chloe up, and she took it. When she got to her feet, Sirius still held onto her and looked directly at her. She seemed to be looking anywhere but him.

"Chloe?"

"What?" Chloe asked in a very quiet voice.

"Do you still want to go to Hogsmeade with me? Er…I mean…well, do you and your friends still want to join my friends and I on Halloween? As friends?" You sound like an idiot! He said to himself. Sirius was sure he had never felt this nervous before, except for when he was just starting at Hogwarts. Sure, he had flirted with other girls, and even gone out with a few of them…but there was something different about Chloe Williams. He found himself wanting to know everything about her. She amazed him like no other.

Chloe's eyes met his. "I'll have to ask the rest, but I'm in." She replied, smiling sweetly.

"Great." Sirius said with a sigh on relief. Chloe gently let go of his and and they made their way down the corridor.

"And Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"I solemnly swear to always help you out." Sirius said, grinning and placing his hand over his heart.

Chloe laughed. "And I, oh-great-Marauder, solemnly swear to laugh at you if you ever need help!" She gave him a little bow.

"Hey!" Sirius said, laughing with her.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. Chloe said, twirling a lock of her light brown hair between two of her fingers. Sirius smiled, noticing her habit. "I've got your back if you've got mine." She said.

"Anytime." Said Sirius, still smiling his handsome smile.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review! Give me ideas, and tell me where I'm off…I'd really like to know what I can do to improve! This is my second fan fiction…don't worry, there's more to come! I'll upload as often as I can…Thanks again!