Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's ideas. You should be smart enough to figure out what I made up, and what I didn't.

"Why do I have the sinking suspicion that seventh year is going to be a drag?" Madison James asked of her best friend as they descended the staircase to the Great Hall.

"I'm not sure Maddy, nothing's gone wrong yet," Sarah Johnson replied as their feet hit the hard flagstone floor. They turned the corner and joined the masses of students heading into the huge room for the first feast of the term. Slowed by the sheer size of the student body this year, even minus the first years, it took the girls a couple of minutes to find a couple of seats at the Gryffindor table. Several people called greetings to them, and they politely replied.

"Hey, have you noticed how popular we are this year?" Sarah asked with a cheeky grin. The two girls always joked about the popularity that had befallen them at Hogwarts. Neither had instigated it, and neither had sought it out. It still remained a mystery.

Madison just brushed aside the comment and turned her attention down the table where an eruption of cheers had just occurred. Amidst a great group of girls, all years, and some boys too were the three most popular boys. James Potter and Sirius Black had apparently just demonstrated the latest hex they'd learned over the summer on their tag-along friend Peter Pettigrew while the third of the infamous trio, Remus Lupin, sat nearby with a slightly disapproving, but mostly amused expression on his face.

"Could that be the reason that I think this year is going to be a drag?" Madison asked slightly sarcastically. Her attention focused on the three boys. She didn't know Remus very well, though he seemed nice enough. She was pretty good friends with James. But Sirius Black . . . well . . . he was just so damn cocky, and annoying, and self-assured, and egotistical, and self-centered . . .

Sarah looked confused. "But I thought that you were friends with James Potter."

"I am, I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about the other half of the dynamic duo."

"Oh," Sarah replied shortly and tried to figure out what annoyed Madison so much about Sirius Black. Dark clouded eyes framed by great hair that fell perfectly over his face. The smirk that nearly always graced his mouth. The physique of a mature seventeen year-old quidditch player. What was so wrong with him?

"He acts like he's the king of the world, and I hate it," Madison announced, answering Sarah's silent question almost instantly.

"Madison!" a voice called. Madison eyes darted around and focused on James Potter, the speaker of her name. "How were your holidays?"

"Brilliant," Madison replied with a smile and allowed James to embrace her in a friendly hug. "Can you believe that we're seventh-years already?"

James grinned. "There are going to be some excellent parties in Gryffindor this term. And since the quidditch team is brilliant as well, we'll have plenty of reasons to celebrate. Sirius and I went to training camp over holiday. We should be great!"

Madison smiled and nodded. "Great." A sudden eruption of giggling came from the table and Madison glanced to see Sirius speaking animatedly with the large group of girls seated around him. One, who was seated on Sirius' left, was sporting a bright red face. Her lipstick was slightly smeared. Madison rolled her eyes and tried to force another smile for James. "How do you put up with him?"

James furrowed his brow. "Who? Sirius?" When Madison nodded, James let out a chuckle. "I just do." He shook his head. "Really Madison, he's a good guy. You should get to know him." He seemed to ponder something before adding as an afterthought, "And you two would get along really well."

Madison nodded. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't think that I need to add that element of drama to my life."

James rethought his statement. "I guess you're right. You both have quite dynamic personalities, who knows what kind of arguments you'd have."

"I'll see you in lessons tomorrow, James." Madison took a seat next to Sarah and ate dinner in silence, listened to the Headmaster's speech in silence, and wandered out of the Great Hall soon after in silence, and alone.

There were a lot of thoughts running through her mind at that particular moment. The summer had been more stressful than she would have liked. After her fall-out with Josh at the beginning of August, she'd been somewhat of a depressing presence for the previous two weeks. The break-up had been hard. Josh had been the first boy she'd dated that she'd told about her involvement in the magic world. And of course, it turned out to be a mistake. He'd gotten "creeped out" and he'd broken up with her soon after. There was a reason why Madison had never told any of her boyfriends about her abilities, and that was it.

Beyond that, her father had been gone all summer, working for the Ministry in Egypt. Madison loved her mother, but she was much closer to her father, and it been virtually a year since she had spent a considerable amount of time with him. And she would be off to work soon. It was her seventh year.

She was lonely. She'd been so used to having a boyfriend, or a group of friends, that she was feeling extremely lonely now.

And she had enormous responsibility. As Head Girl, she was responsible for making sure that all of the Prefects were in line with dealing with the younger students, she had meetings three times a week with the Headmaster on the state of the student body, and she had to work together with Severus, the Head Boy and a Slytherin, to get all of this done. Plus, the work she had in order to graduate at the top of her class, and her N.E.W.T.s.

Life was suddenly becoming very complicated.

>

"Welcome to your second year of Advanced Transfiguration," Professor Dumbledore announced to the class assembled in front of him. He waved his wand and a piece of parchment appeared on each of the students' desks. Madison glanced down and saw that it was the class rules and regulations on one side, and the syllabus on the back. She had taken a seat in the back because she had almost been late to class after her meeting with the headmaster, and had just been looking for the first available seat. "Why don't we begin by calling roll?" He focused on a piece of parchment on his desk. "Joselyn Addams."

"Here," a timid Hufflepuff sounded from the front row. Everyone was slightly surprised that the headmaster was teaching their class this term, and all couldn't help but wonder why.

"Excellent," Dumbledore iterated. "Wonderful to see you back again Miss Addams."

"Th-thank you Professor."

"Hmm . . . Pierce Argon."

"Present, Professor," a Slytherin in the middle of the room announced.

"How was your summer Mr. Argon?" Dumbledore asked.

"Tolerable," Argon responded. "I spent a few weeks in the Caribbean with my parents. I don't understand how Muggles can be content just sitting on the beach for weeks."

"Nor I, Mr. Argon. Though sometimes it is pleasant to just rid the mind of everything for a time," Dumbledore responded. He smiled and studied his class roster again. "Ah, of course, Mr. Black."

"Still available, Professor," came a voice directly to Madison's left. Her stomach sank. Dammit, she'd have to sit next to him for the rest of the term. Professor Dumbledore heartily believed in the power of first reaction. So they'd be keeping these seats for a long time. She didn't want to sit next to Sirius at all.

"Glad to hear it Mr. Black. I had a feeling that was the case since the female population of Hogwarts wasn't prostrate with grief last night." The girls in the room giggled at the professor's quip and all stole red-faced glances at Sirius.

"What can I say Professor? Someone has to do the job." More girls giggled harder at the comment.

Professor Dumbledore smiled. "I trust you had a satisfying summer?"

"Of course."

"Excellent," Dumbledore responded. "Hopefully the rest of the year will bode well for you." He read the next name on his list. "I just love this class. Are you here Miss James?"

Madison barely had time to snap out of her Black-hating reverie before responding, "Yes, Professor, I'm here."

"I thought I noticed you darting into the room just before the bell." He smiled. "How is your father?"

Madison half-smiled. The professor and Mr. James were good friends. "All right I guess. He's been in Egypt for a couple of months now. I haven't seen him lately."

"He did mention that the last time we spoke," Dumbledore replied. He smiled. "Well, we all expect great things from you this year."

Madison forced a smile back at him. "Thank you Professor." Inside, her stomach sank again. More pressure. Dumbledore moved on in the class roster. She heard James Potter answer to the Professor when his name was called. He was seated on the other side of Sirius.

Dumbledore began teaching the lesson, and it was completely review for Madison, so she started to zone out and began some Charms homework from class earlier that morning. A voice in her left ear startled her. "Why aren't you sitting in the front row, Head Girl?"

Madison's head snapped to the left to see Sirius studying her. Madison sighed and focused on the parchment in front of her again. "Believe it or not, I actually don't prefer to sit in the front row."

"How was your summer?" he asked a second later.

"Alright. And yours?" Madison replied.

"Brilliant." Madison could still feel his eyes on her. After a tense minute or so, she sighed. "Why aren't you listening to the lesson, Black? You might actually learn something."

Sirius shrugged. "This is all review for me."

Madison was surprised by his statement. "You mean, you actually studied for your O.W.L.s?"

Sirius scoffed. "Study? Me? Never."

"How many did you get?" Madison was intrigued.

"How many did you get?" Sirius shot back at her.

"Seven," she replied proudly. Sirius smirked, and Madison couldn't help but take the bait. "What?"

Sirius got up to try out the spell that Professor Dumbledore had just explained. He waved his wand and easily turned the teapot on his desk into a quill and ink. He rolled the quill between his fingers as he stepped up behind Madison's chair and leaned down so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "I got eight," he whispered. "By the way," he continued to speak heavily into her ear, "the Syphunis Charm won't work in that instance. Might I suggest the Protomat? Would get the job done much more quickly and efficiently."

Madison couldn't help it. She shot up out of her chair and thrust her face towards his. "Let's get something straight, Black. All of the girls in this school may fall all over themselves when they see how attractive you are, but I won't. You and I, we are not friends, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't act like we are."

Sirius looked truly taken aback, but then he put on a half-smile. "You think I'm attractive?"

Madison shook her head. "What?"

"You said that I'm attractive. Does that constitute sexy?"

"Oh my god, I-I . . ." Professor Dumbledore dismissed class and Madison still couldn't think of an answer for Sirius. She didn't even realize that she'd missed the homework assignment.

Sirius gathered up his bag and offered Madison another heart-breaking smile. "You think about that," he said. He leaned forward towards her ear again and whispered, "I like your perfume. Very sexy." And with that, he joined up with James and left the room.

>

"He was just so . . . so, God, he was just so cocky. I wanted to deck him." Madison was telling Sarah about her morning classes at the lunch table.

"Madison, do you realize that every other girl in the entire class was probably looking at you longingly and wishing they were you. I mean, come on, Sirius Black was hitting on you in the middle of Transfiguration, and he got away with it."

"I don't appreciate the fact that he thinks he can just bestow his attention upon a girl and then she'll fall over and do anything he wants. Besides, he's not interested in me, he just likes the way I would look on his arm. He probably wants the administration to think that he's shaping up his act by looking interested in me. That or he just wants to ruin my reputation. It's probably a great lark for him, you know, nailing the Head Girl."

Sarah laughed. "Madison, I think you just need to chill out and let . . . oh, hey James, hey Sirius."

Madison sighed and pushed her plate away from herself. She grabbed her bag and stood up from the table. She smiled at James. "Hey James. How are you?"

"Good, how are you?" he replied.

"Fine. Listen, I'd love to stay, but I have to run to the library before Potions." She gave a half-hearted apologetic smile and made like she was going to leave.

Sirius grabbed her arm. "Don't leave because of me," he said. Madison studied his face. She shook off his hand.

"I'm not. I really have things to do."

"I don't believe you."

Madison sighed. "How do I prove it to you?"

"By coming to the massive party tonight in the common room and actually speaking to me," he answered.

"Now why would I do that?" Madison asked.

"Because you're a nice person, and I want to get to know you."

"Yeah, right," Madison answered and walked off.

>

"Quit acting all pissy because Madison James is not interested in you, Padfoot," James announced as he, Sirius, and Remus began setting up things for the party.

"I just don't understand it, James. Why is she so anti- . . . me?"

Remus laughed, "I think it's excellent that there's finally a girl that you might have to work for. Believe it or not, not all girls will just fawn over you wherever you go, Sirius. Some are immune."

"Oh come off it, Moony. You and I both know the reason that she's not interested," James said loudly.

"What's the reason, Prongs?" Sirius asked, intrigued.

James shrugged. "Well, the fact that she refuses to get involved with any wizard and because of that, what happened to her this summer."

Sirius let his wand arm fall slack at his side. "What happened?"

James sighed, "I don't know if I should tell you. She didn't really offer the information up freely this afternoon."

"Prongs, come on. I don't want to hurt the girl's feelings or anything. Maybe this will keep me from it."

James glanced at Remus, who shook his head. "It's your call, James."

"Why won't she date any wizards?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," James answered. "We didn't talk about that. We just talked about this summer."

"What happened?"

James sighed. "Well, she was dating a footballer all summer, you know, one of those really athletic Muggles. And she really really liked him, so she decided to tell him at the beginning of August about her involvement in the Magic World, and the bloke went all pussy on her and dumped her. Said she was a weirdo and that he couldn't be involved with someone like that. Broke her heart."

Sirius felt bad. "That's so shitty. And she likes those kinds of guys?"

"I guess so," James replied.

Sirius shook his head. After an intense amount of thinking, he stood up proudly and puffed his chest out. "Moony, Padfoot, I will be the first wizard to truly date Madison James by the end of the term. Beyond that, she will be revered as the most beautiful, the smartest, and the damn luckiest girl in all of Hogwarts. And I will deserve her."

James and Remus both laughed. "Good luck with that one, mate."

>

Should I continue this one, guys?? Feedback would be greatly appreciated.