A.N.-Fair Warning: This chapter is Sappy Romantic Mush. And Happy Fluffy Mush on top of that. A hint or two of angst, but mostly mush.

Chapter Three!!

Time: Present

Alexandra had once thought the pain she lived with day by day couldn't have been any worse. She'd been wrong. Since she'd learned of Sirius's escape, two more tiny slivers of pain had made their way into her heart.

Fear. Fear that he'd be caught again, or worse, that she'd been wrong all these years and he really was a murderous traitor. No-she'd never allowed herself to believe that. She couldn't start now. Then there was the hope. The hope she'd never allowed herself to have while he was in Azkaban. The fragile, foolish hope that somehow he'd prove his innocence, and they'd be together again.

Fear, and hope. She wasn't sure which was more dangerous.

On top of everything else, school had started again. Isadora was back at Hogwarts.and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was none other than Remus J. Lupin. Alexandra wanted desperately to contact him, talk to him.but how could she? They'd barely spoken in twelve years, and the last real conversation they'd had had ended in angry, hurtful words. Ironically, their friendship had fallen apart just when they'd needed each other most.

No. She wasn't going to think about that night. She'd think about anything but that. Anything...

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The next day was Saturday. Sirius woke up earlier than he usually did on weekends. He wanted to find Alexandra and talk to her. After talking to several Ravenclaws, he learned that she would probably be in the library. He found her there, bent over a large book and occasionally scribbling something in a notebook. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey." He said, feeling uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden. "I wanted to make sure you were okay-"

"And ask me whether or not I'm going to tell anyone about what happened, right?" He nodded, and she sighed. "I still think that what you're doing is foolish and dangerous, Sirius. But you've told me a very important secret, and I won't betray your trust."

Their eyes met as she said this. A messy tangle of emotions rose inside Sirius-gratitude, admiration, and something he couldn't find a name for. He smiled and tried to think of something to say. "Thanks. It means a lot to know I can trust you."

Alexandra toyed with her pencil, looking as awkward as he felt. "Is Remus alright?" she asked after a moment. "I've heard lycanthrope transformations are very painful."

Sirius sat down beside her. "He's fine. So what are you doing?"

A flicker of a small crossed her face. "Researching lycanthropy. I found some interesting stuff.did you know a team of wizards is currently working to develop a potion that could make transformations less painful and allow the person to keep control of themselves when they change?"

"Really? That's great!"

She nodded enthusiastically. "It could be the first step toward a cure." Alexandra glanced over at Sirius and saw him regarding her intently. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...it's just, we only met a few days ago and you're showing all this concern for Remus. Most people I know wouldn't want anything to do with him if they knew what you know."

"I'm not most people." She set her notebook aside. "And as for us having just met, there's a simple enough solution to that. Tell me about yourself."

They stayed in the library until lunchtime, talking about anything, just getting to know each other. They talked about their families. Alexandra was from an old, influential, and very rich wizard family-she could trace her ancestors back to Merlin of Britain, a wizard so famous even Muggles grew up knowing his name. She had two siblings-a brother who had already graduated from Hogwarts and a sister who would be starting next year. Her mother had died soon after the youngest sister was born-the birth had been difficult and the baby had almost died as well. Sirius was the only child of a relatively young family-his grandparents had been Muggle-born, but his family was also fairly wealthy.

She asked him what kind of books he read, and Sirius confessed, a bit awkwardly, that he didn't read much. Alexandra didn't seem to think less of him for that. She smiled, said that maybe he'd just been reading the wrong things, and suggested some books she thought he might like. He made a mental note to read some of them as soon as possible so he could talk to her about them. Then he asked what music she listened to, and they discovered they both had a passion for Muggle rock and roll. They compared groups and found that they were both fans of Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Doors.

Leaving the library, they continued their conversation all the way down to the Great Hall. Sirius was so engaged in talking to her that he almost sat down at the Ravenclaw table without realizing it. James and Remus noticed, and teased him mercilessly throughout the meal.

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They saw each other a lot in the next few days. Alexandra easily made friends with the other Marauders and Lily, a pretty fifth year Gryffindor who James was hopelessly in love with. Lily and Alexandra had similar personalities, but Lily was more confident and outgoing than the notoriously shy Alexandra. In a way, she took the younger girl under her wing.

Next to Sirius, Alexandra got along best with Remus, who was almost as quiet as her and easily the smartest of the group. She liked James, who blushingly asked her if Lily ever said anything about him when the girls were alone. She and Peter never had much to say to each other, perhaps because they were both so timid, but they got along alright.

Sirius, though, was definitely her favorite. They would spend hours in the library or walking together outside, talking about anything and everything. Sirius was a naturally open person, and whatever made Alexandra afraid to talk to other people never seemed to matter with him. In a few days, they new each other as well as if they'd been friends for years. It wasn't just friendship either. Sirius hadn't kissed her since that first night, but they touched often and the attraction between them was obvious. As for kissing and...other things, Sirius was in no hurry. He felt like he could spend the rest of his life with Alexandra and still not get tired of her company. If anything was going to happen between them, it would happen in its own time.

A.N.-Sappy goodness, eh? Got a bit carried away with all the Sirius falling in love business. ^_^

Okay, okay, I promise the next chapter won't be so mushy. In fact, there's gonna be EVIL in it! How 'bout that? Stick around-voluntarily--otherwise I'll have to break out the duct tape. And we don't want that, do we?