A/N: Ok, it's short, but not pointless. The method behind my madness will be revealed to all as soon as the next few chapters show up. Oh, and don't forget to REVIEW!!
Sirius turned up in the entrance hall for detention slightly before Kat. He had a sneaky suspicion that MacGonagall was going to make them was bedpans in the infirmary.
No such luck though. MacGonagall turned up only a few minutes after Kat did.
"You two will be marking first year Transfiguration test." She informed them as she swept them into her classroom. "And if I find one incorrect answer marked correct, or one correct answer marked incorrect, the two of you will be doing detention till summer holidays."
Kat groaned and MacGonagall shot her a disapproving glance. "You should consider yourself lucky, Miss Hale. I had though about making the two of you scrub bedpans in the infirmary."
Sirius burst out laughing as if it was the funniest thing anyone had said in years. An impatient look from the Professor shut him up quick enough though.
MacGonagall set them to work before seating herself behind her own desk and studiously started doing her own paperwork.
Sirius cast Kat a look every now and then, but she kept her eyes carefully on the paper before her, only looking up now and then to keep her neck from going into spasm.
Pushing her papers away from her, MacGonagall stood up, making both the students look up curiously.
"Well, I am going to the staff room." She declared, walking to the door. "If I come into this class-room and the two of you are not here, there will be very serious trouble." Her tone was grave and her piercing eyes held each of them for a second before she swept out of the room.
"This is all your fault." Sirius grumbled as the Professor's footsteps grew faint.
"What?" Kat looked up from the paper in front of her. "Just to refresh your memory, I wasn't the one who threw a burningberry root! Please enlighten me as to how this can be my fault?"
"You're the one who splashed your potion all over me!" Sirius's eyes flashed with indignation.
"You are such a puffed-up git, do you know that, Sirius Black?" Kat jumped up and stood facing Sirius, hands on hips. "You think that the entire world revolves around you and your little life!" Sirius tried to say something in his own defence, but Kat kept right on. "And you know what? I don't think that you are mad about the splash of Perisiclepotion. You are mad because I was right about the Three Broomsticks!"
"Don't you dare try to get into my head!" Sirius exclaimed and jumped up so that he stood inches from Kat. "You waltz in here and push your way into our group, and everyone thinks that you are oh so wonderful! But you are not, Katherine Hale, and I seem to be the only one who sees it."
Kat's hand flashed out to hit him, but Sirius easily caught her wrist, holding her hand in a vice-like grip. "Don't even think about it, Kitty Kat!"
Eyes blazing with anger, Kat nearly snarled at Sirius. "What do you have against me, Black? What?"
For a moment he stood silently, breathing raggedly. "I don't know!" He exclaimed finally, released her wrist and spun around, walking away from her.
Behind him, Kat massaged her wrist and winched. "You nearly broke my wrist, Black."
"I'm sorry." He turned around to face her, and for the first time, Kat really found him attractive. "I have been a prick, and that was unfair of me."
"No, I'm sorry." Kat shrugged. "I don't know what I did to offend you, but when you find out, please tell me." She sighed slightly and sat back down, picked up her quill and continued marking test.
Several minutes later, Sirius too sat down, and the only sound to be heard was the scratching of quills on paper.
That was how MacGonagall found them, two hours later, and even when she told them to go back to their dormitories, neither of them spoke.
***
Gryffindor creamed Hufflepuff in the match the following week, and that night the Marauders held a smashing party in the Common Room to celebrate. Earlier that evening several of the Gryffindors had snuck down to the kitchen to get all manners of delicacies for the party, while everyone else added something from their own stocks of Honeydukes' sweets which had been replenished by the previous week's trip to Hogsmeade.
The Quidditch team were treated like heroes, and James and Sirius basked in the attention they were getting; even going so far as to hand out autographs to any person who stood still long enough.
Jess and Remus were sitting on one of the couches, feeding each other Berty Both's Every Flavour beans, while several fourth year boys made gagging noises and laughed madly.
Something that James did not notice, was the way Lily's eyes followed him – as they had for the last couple of days. Apparently she had finally found out that she was in love with him, and when Kat pointed it out to James, he was more than happy to make his way over to her and forget the autographs.
Kat grinned as she saw the look on Lily's face when James pulled her out onto one of the couches for "a chat", Kat thought she hear him say.
Trying to ignore the jealous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched Sirius talking animatedly to one of the third year girls – a pretty red-haired girl will doll-like features and sparkling green eyes – Kat made herself comfortable in an out-of-the way corner of the Common Room as she watched Peter trying to flirt with a fifth year.
The pudgy boy had changed a great deal since he came out of the infirmary, and Kat suspected that something worse than a bad stomach ache had kept him in the Hospital Wing for so long. Not that he would admit it.
As the evening wore on, more and more people started to drift off to bed, the younger ones first, and then, slowly, the older students as well. In the end, just after one o'clock, only the Marauders, Lily, Jess and Kat were left.
"Well," James said, dragging his attention away from Lily. "It seems like we have to clean up."
The others nodded and slowly started to right upended couches and tables. Kat was just finished fishing several chocolate frogs out from under a couch, when she spotted Sirius quietly making his way up the stairs.
"Oh no you don't!" She grabbed a pillow and took careful aim at Sirius's head, hitting him squarely and hard. "Come down here and help clean up!"
Turning around, Sirius grabbed the pillow and launched it back at Kat - who ducked just in time – and accidentally hit Jess in the stomach.
"You come down here, Sirius Black!" Jess called. "This means war!"
Grinning, Sirius ran down the stairs and grabbed a pillow while the others started pelting each other with cushions from the couches and chairs. A full out pillow-fight started, complete with shrieks of outrage, cries of triumph and ringing challenges. It was quite a wonder that none of the other Gryffindors came down to join the new party, but they were probably all to tired to.
Kat aimed another pillow at Sirius, who let out a bellow and stormed her, knocking her backward onto a couch. Not quite looking where he was going, his foot got stuck in one end of the carpet and he fell forward, right unto Kat.
Extending his arms to keep from squashing her, Sirius's fall halted with his face inches from Kat's. For a moment they merely lay there, gasping for air.
Around them, the others all fell quiet and turned to look at the two on the couch, waiting for one of them to make some biting comment. A comment that didn't come. For a moment, it appeared as if Sirius would kiss Kat, but then the portrait swung open, allowing Professor MacGonagall to enter, still folding her night robe around her.
"What is the meaning of this?" She shouted as she glanced around, taking in the remains of the party and the occasional feather drifting about lazily after the pillow fight.
Sirius jumped away from Kat as if he had been burned, and she sat up quickly, trying to look as if she was fishing Every Flavour Beans out from between the seats.
"I allowed you to have your little victory party, but this is too much! It is two o'clock in the morning!" She glanced to where Kat sat. "And don't think I didn't see you and Mr Black on the couch, Miss Hale."
Kat went slightly pink. "It wasn't what you might think, Professor." She mumbled, but knew it was a waste of effort.
"And you, Miss Evans, I would have thought better of a Prefect; and you, Mr Potter, you seem to have forgotten about the badge pinned to your own robe!" It was Lily's turn to go scarlet, and James dropped his gaze. "All of you will clean this mess up – without magic, mind you – and then you will go to bed. If I hear even one more squeak from any of you, I will see that you all have detention!" With that, Professor MacGonagall turned around and climbed almost awkwardly through the portrait door.
***