Sirius avoided Circe over the next few days, which really wasn't hard as she was trying to avoid him too. At meal times they each talked to their own friends, they didn't converse in classes, and they only spoke when they had too during Quidditch practice. He only saw her and Seamus two times in the halls, and he felt that it was great progress that he hadn't gotten mad or upset in any way. Well, not really ... he was more disgusted with public displays of affection in the halls. Who the hell wanted to see them necking any way? He certainly didn't, and he certainly didn't care that Circe was all over Seamus. Didn't care at all ...

In fact, by the end of the week after Sirius had told Circe he 'liked' her he had almost completely managed to convince himself that he was over her. After all, ladies men like Sirius didn't fall for girls, girls fell for them and if Circe was so set against having anything to do with him than why should he care? It's not like it was really jealousy that he was feeling when she laughed at something Seamus said, or when she smiled at the mention of his name. That wasn't him being jealous; he was just annoyed that a Gryffindor wasn't with another Gryffindor. And besides, Seamus Malloy was a stupid prat.

Oh well ... the point was that Sirius now felt he was completely over Circe. No more trying to think about what he was doing wrong – it wasn't his fault she was too dumb to see how perfect he was – no more trying to get her attention. He was completely finished with her. Let her do what she wanted, he no longer cared.

At least, he no longer cared whenever he didn't have to be around her. Whenever she wasn't around him, it was easy to think about how much he was over her. But the point that he wouldn't let enter his head was that even though he 'wasn't thinking about her' he was still thinking about how he wasn't thinking about her. In fact, it was all he ever thought about.

James's hand suddenly waved an inch in front of Sirius's eyes and he jumped backwards, startled from his thoughts on being over Circe. "Earth to Padfoot. Have you been listening to a word I just said?"

Sirius turned his head and looked at James, shooting him an annoyed look and pretending to be affronted. "Course I have Prongs."

"Than what did I say?" James crossed his arms smugly, knowing full well that Sirius had no clue what James had been blithering on about.

He wracked his brain for knowledge on James, not wanting to admit he hadn't been listening even though he knew he had been caught. He tried to think about topics James would want to say something about. Pranks. Lily Evans. Quidditch. Torturing Snape – wait! He vaguely remembered hearing something about a bludger. It was Quidditch. Sirius imitated James and crossed his own arms, leaning back slightly in his chair. "Quidditch."

James arched a brow, "What about Quidditch?"

Fuck, Sirius thought. "What not about Quidditch?"

James laughed loudly and clapped Sirius on the back. "Now you're just not making sense." Sirius shrugged and smiled. "I was talking about the game against Hufflepuff. The game tomorrow against Hufflepuff."

"Right. I knew that. Course I did." Sirius nodded and frowned slightly. There was a match against Hufflepuff and he hoped that he would get a chance to knock a bludger over at the teams captain Malloy. Of course, it had nothing to do with Malloy and Circe dating. It was just that Seamus deserved to have his big head knocked off that broom.

"Sure you did mate. Sure you did." James laughed again and this time, when he began to speak, Sirius listened. It was time for some strategy.


The next day, when the time for the match came, Sirius was no longer so convinced he was over Circe. By some stroke of fate he had ended up sitting next to her on the bench as Julian Everett – Gryffindor's Keeper and the most optimistic teammate – gave the team a motivational pep-talk and a recap of today's game strategy along with James. But he didn't listen fully. Instead, he watched Circe listen from the corner of his eyes as she stared intently back at Julian. He watched as her mouth curved into a smile when he said something funny, and he watched as her face set into determination when James went on about how Gryffindor had to keep the Quidditch Cup in their name for another year.

She looked so beautiful with her bangs falling stubbornly close to her eyes and her dark blue eyes that seemed to reflect heaven in their depths. He forgot all about his resolve to be over her and he sighed as she smiled yet again. Sirius was almost disgusted with himself. He had become so obsessed with Circe and it was pitiful. He had never thought that he would be one of the many who adored a girl who didn't even know they existed. Or worse. Knew they existed but just didn't care enough.

"Alright than," Julian's thick cockney accent as he rolled his shoulders back and nodded appraisingly at his teammates. "'Bout time we got out there than. Best of luck mates, let's not botch it."

James finished the pep-talk appropriately as he was captain. "Let's have fun out there and kick Hufflepuff into tomorrow!"

With that, the rest of the team let out a cheer, Sirius belatedly letting out a yell of appreciation. The Gryffindor's than made their way out of the change room and onto the pitch, James and Sirius leaving last as James put a hand on his shoulder to still him. "Thought you were over her mate?" James whispered mockingly as he laughed at his best friend.

Sirius scowled darkly at James. "I am."

"Right." James laughed again, picking up his pace and dropping his voice to a whisper as they reached the rest of their team on the pitch. "Let's just hope you can keep your eyes on the bludger instead of on Bloom."

Sirius swung his bat lightly and hit James playfully in the arm. James laughed again. Sirius's fellow beater, Angela Hall, winked at him as he shrugged sheepishly at her. She was a fifth year and frequently made it obvious that she was interested in him. The other team members included Jess Morin and Reese Farrell who were chasers along with Circe. Both boys were in fifth year and were riots, always regaling the team with some tall tale. They were also really good at their position, but not nearly as good as Circe.

The stadiums were filled to the brim and Sirius looked around haughtily, recognizing Moony, Adriana, Wormtail, and Kelsey Smithettes sitting in second row on the Gryffindor side. Kelsey waved at him shyly and he waved back wanting to be nice. He continued scanning the crowd and then moved on to look at the Hufflepuff team. His mood instantly darkened.

Shaking hands with James as the captains were required to do was Seamus Malloy. Behind him stood the rest of Hufflepuffs team. The other two chasers (Peter Johnston and Steven Jackson), the keeper (Guy Reid), the beaters (Colin Birmingham and Misty Morneau) and the teams' seeker (Nicole Ernst). They were a good team, but not nearly as skilled as the Gryffindors.

Seamus, right before turning to stand in position, winked at Circe and than shot a stony glare at Sirius. Sirius only smirked back, not wanting to let on how annoyed he was with the ever perfect Hufflepuff. Seamus got into his position and did not offer another glance at Sirius as they took off from the ground, the game started.

Cheers sounded as the commentator made the play-by-play. It started with Reese and Circe shooting the quaffle at Guy Reid twice before even a minute had gone by. Circe scored on Reese's rebound making it 10-0 for Gryffindor. Birmingham shot a bludger at Morin but Sirius managed to deflect it and – completely by accident – hit Seamus with it instead. Circe scored another goal on Hufflepuff.

As the game went on, Gryffindor dominated and after twenty minutes of playing they lead the game 90-20. Sirius hit another two bludgers at Seamus and when the second one nearly knocked him off his broom Circe flew towards him. "Watch it Black" she hissed as she zoomed away, catching the quaffle from Morin and throwing it to Farrell who scored once again. Gryffindor leads by 80 points.

Sirius shook his head and ran his hand through his hair as it started to rain and he watched as Angela Hall shot a bludger at Misty Morneau, preventing Misty from hitting Jess Morin. He watched and smiled as Circe intercepted a pass between Steven Jackson and Seamus and threw it to Reese. He laughed to himself as Seamus glared at Circe, clearly frustrated that his team was suffering a humiliating loss.

The rain began to poor down harder, but luckily, after only a forty-five minute game James dove down near to the ground - pulling up only just before he hit the ground - and caught the golden snitch, much to the dismay of Nicole Ernst who had been neck in neck with him and so close to reaching the snitch. Gryffindor won the game at 270-90.

The supporters in red and gold erupted into cheers of glory as a very subdued Hufflepuff crowd made their way slowly from the stands. The Hufflepuff team shook hands with the Gryffindors as they all landed on the ground, and when it came time to shake Seamus's hand, Sirius smiled condescendingly at him while Seamus refused to even look at him.

The Gryffindor team was ecstatic as this was a great way to start a new season. James had a foolish grin that stretched from ear to ear and he and Julian were euphoric as the teams grouped together in the center of the field. They excitedly made their way to the change room, already starting to decide on a new strategy for the next game against Ravenclaw. Sirius hung back a bit in the rain as he watched Circe give Seamus a quick hug before she made her way to join her teammates. He scowled but she didn't appear to notice.

Inside the change room another motivational speech was given, this one by James who congratulated the entire team on their performance and promised there would be a celebration in the Common Room that night. And even though it wasn't the most important game, it was the first one of the season and the first one that James had ever been captain for and he was beyond happy that his leadership seemed to be working out.

"Nice game, eh Sirius?" Angela asked as she stood close to his side, her arm brushing his, smiling sweetly at him.

"Great one," he replied, giving one of his most charming smiles at her as he watched Circe out of the corner of his eye. She was talking to Reese and kept glancing over at him. Sirius thought that was a good sign.

"You're so good out there on that broom ... maybe you could show me some tricks sometime?" Angela asked hopefully as she shifted her feet and moved her body so that her chest was thrust out a bit. She grinned coyly.

"Sometime," he said raising an eyebrow and dazzling her with another smile.

She smiled stupidly back at him and opened her mouth to speak when Jess called her name. She rolled her eyes, shrugged, and walked over to Jess, leaving Sirius standing alone. He looked around the room casually, not wanting to interrupt James who was deep in discussion with Julian. And as he scanned the room his eyes caught Circe's and he noticed that she was watching him. She smiled a bit and jerked her head slightly, indicating that he should come over. He nodded and walked over, joining her and Reese.

Reese didn't stop talking as Sirius approached. "-Of course that's no way to tell if we're really all that great. After all, it was only Hufflepuff – no offense meant to Malloy or anything – but that team has never been in the same skill level as ours. Ravenclaw might be an interesting game, but I'm really looking forward to whooping Slytherin – oh hey Black."

Sirius nodded and smiled at Reese. "Admit it Farrell, it was a good game." Circe said, pretending to be stern. Reese's smile widened and he said "Good game."

Sirius chanced a glance down at Circe and watched her smiling out of the corner of his eye. Her hair was drenched, but the bangs had begun to dry, and she looked stunning. Her cheeks were flushed from the cool air from outside.

"Well, I suppose I ought to change than," Reese said, smiling once more and making his way towards the showers. "See you two tonight."

"Later Farrell," Sirius said.

Sirius and Circe were left alone in the corner. Reese, Jess, and Angela had all left the change room and Julian and James were far too deep in conversation to notice anyone else. Sirius swallowed slightly and ran a hand through his damp hair. "You did a good job out there, scored most of the goals." He attempted to be casual, but his voice trembled a bit and he cursed himself.

Circe blushed a bit and smiled at him, forgetting their mutual decision to not speak just long enough so they could congratulate one another. "You weren't so bad out there yourself, eh Black?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "But maybe next time you could be a little more careful and not try to knock the opposing teams' captain off his broom?"

"Maybe" he teased back. She laughed and they both turned at the same time to head for the change room. But Circe's foot caught on her robe and she tripped, falling sideways into Sirius who caught her in his arms, her momentum knocking him off his feet so that they landed on the bench, her sitting on his lap.

Neither spoke for a moment, Sirius loosened his grip on her, giving her a chance to get up if she wanted to. His breathe came a bit faster as she tilted her head sideways, looking at him with an awed expression on her face. He saw her eyes widen and she swallowed, her lips barely an inch away from his.

It was amazing to him how fast the mood changed between them, how fast the tension arose. More than anything in the world, he wanted to kiss her. He moved his face forward a bit; testing the waters to see what she would do if he tried to kiss her. She didn't move, only swallowed again. Her cheeks were flushed and he moved forward again, pressing his lips gently to hers. She put her hand up on his shoulder and he began to deepen the kiss when he heard something that made him feel as if he was being doused with a bucket of cold water.

"Erm." It was James's voice and Circe pulled away, practically leaping of Sirius's lap and nearly falling over again as she slid on some water that covered the ground. Her entire face turned scarlet and she mumbled a quick "excuse me" as she rushed to change. Sirius turned and scowled at James who bore a cocky, knowing grin. "Over her, under her, all the same difference to you, eh mate?"

"Oh sod off!" Sirius shot back, feeling his face redden a bit. He stood up and made his way towards the showers to cool off. He thought to himself as he took his regular clothes from his locker that Circe Bloom was definitely something special. And he still didn't get her, how she refused to talk to him one moment and then flirted with him the next. It was beyond his comprehension how her mind worked. But he would soon find out, that he was sure off.

A/N sorry for the long time no update! Hope you enjoyed this chapter... there is more to come and the plot will most assuredly deepen! Keep reading and special thanks to all my reviewers!! It's always so sweet to read reviews!