It wasn't until the bell rang and Remus nudged Sirius that he remembered they had to head to Double Potions, without the homework. He scowled darkly as the Marauders made their way to the Potions Dungeon. And his scowl deepened when he entered the room to find that all of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students were standing in a circle around the desks, watching apprehensively as Professor Smyth went around the room, placing a card on each seat.

"Each one of these cards," Smyth's voice droned scathingly, "has a name written on it. One of your names. You will sit where your name is, and that will be your seat for the rest of the year. The other person seated at your station will be your partner." He placed the last card on a chair near the very front and turned to face his students, his eyes instantly falling on the Marauders as he continued speaking. "This is my NEWTs class, and as it is so, I refuse to have it turned into a circus by arrogant students who feel they are above rules." Peter was the only one who blushed as all of the students eyes turned on the Marauders. "Now, I expect you to quietly find your seats, it shouldn't be too hard as they are in alphabetical order."

Sirius felt his stomach drop at that last sentence. Alphabetical order? He gulped slowly as he made his way to the far left corner where the B's were situated. Sure enough, just as he had expected, Black was scrawled in elegant handwriting across a snow white card. And right next to it, on the chair at this station, was the name Bloom. Sirius swallowed hard once more as he took his seat.

"Black," Circe smiled at him. After he and James had saved her yesterday they were on even better terms. She seemed to have completely forgotten his fight with Seamus and the incident when he had told her that he liked her. She took the seat next to him and he shifted again. How on earth did Smyth expect him to get any work done while he was partners with Circe? It was more likely that he would spend a day with James and not get into trouble.

He turned around to see where his friends were sitting. Adriana Finn and Lily Evans were next to each other, as were Peter and James whose last names both started with P's. Remus was sitting next to a Hufflepuff girl by the name of Erin Lester.

"Well, at least you and I are together. I could have been stuck with Peter." Circe smiled at him and he tried to smile back, having his attempt end up looking more like a grimace.

They didn't get another chance to talk for the first hour of the class as Professor Smyth spent the entire time explaining the potion they were to attempt that day, and publicly berating the four students who hadn't finished their essays. He then assigned another one to be handed in with the first early the next morning. If it wasn't handed in there would be "dire consequences indeed."

But when they finally did talk Sirius forgot his nervousness as they chatted comfortably over a boiling cauldron of Metrius Donnius – a potion that was supposed to cure depression in wizards. At first they talked about what had happened the day before, and she thanked him profusely for his help. They then moved onto a more comfortable topic: Quidditch.

Circe laughed as she spoke, "Seamus was pretty furious that we creamed them in the match on Saturday. He was so convinced he was going to beat us."

The mention of Seamus's name bothered Sirius but he brushed it off as best he could and smiled back at her, telling himself repeatedly that he was supposed to be over her. "You were amazing out there! They didn't stand a chance."

Circe blushed at the complement and swept her bangs out of her eyes. "Thanks. You did great out there too."

Sirius shrugged her comment off. "Not nearly as good as you." These words were completely and utterly true. Circe was easily the best Quidditch player at Hogwarts and he felt no shame in admitting that she was better than him.

"I'm still not good enough to play professionally though." Circe said her brow furrowing a bit as she poured some crushed Mandrake root into their potion.

"Have you tried any training?" Sirius questioned.

"Naw," she tilted her head so that she was looking at him sideways. "I haven't done any of the professional training techniques, can't really afford the lessons. I practice whenever I can though."

A light bulb went off in Sirius's head. This was perfect. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought to try it before. "One of my parents good friends played for England you know." She nodded, her curiosity sparked as he began to draw her in. "He taught me some techniques they used to use to train ... I could show them to you if you wanted. It could be like I'm your personal coach or something."

Circe smiled at him and he felt his heart rise into his throat. "That would be brilliant!" The words rushed out of her mouth and she seemed to realize how eagerly she had spoken because she blushed lightly. "I mean, if you wouldn't mind that would definitely be really great."

"Meet me at the pitch tonight at 6:30." She smiled once more and they talked until the end of class about Quidditch and Sirius instructed her not to where her robes, but to wear Muggle clothes which were easier to maneuver in.

As they made their way out of the class, she turned to him and gave him a quick hug just before he left the door. "Thanks so much Black! This means a lot!"

He blushed a bit and mumbled "anytime." And he walked to the Dining Hall for lunch with a stupid grin on his face, James teasing him mercilessly for the rest of the day.


Sirius met Circe out at the Quidditch pitch that night at 6:30, just as they had agreed. She smiled shyly at him and he took the chance to give her the once-over. She had obeyed his request and not worn her robes. Instead, she wore dark blue bellbottom jeans and an England Football Team Jersey that was just one size too big and hung down past her hips. It was her favorite team - Manchester United - but he had never found what was so appealing about a group of Muggles kicking a ball into a net. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony, the red and orange highlights twining together and shining in the light like fire. She wore no makeup, but was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"Hi," Circe said, sweeping her bangs out of her eyes.

"Oi," He returned with a nod. She looked nervous and Sirius smiled widely. "Ready to practice for the big time?" He said gesturing to the pitch with his broom, his tone teasing.

Circe took a deep breathe and smiled bravely at him, "Of course."

Sirius led the way out into the middle of the pitch which was illuminated by the orange glow of the sun. He placed his broom on the ground and signaled for her to do the same. She raised an eyebrow quizzically at him, but did as he wanted.

"OK. This first thing that we're gonna do is a balance trick that the Bulgarian team does before every game." He stood so that his feet were shoulder width apart and stood up straight. She mimicked him.

"Balance trick. Right. Gotcha." She smiled once more at him and his insides twisted a bit. Christ she was gorgeous, he thought.

With her full attention on him, Sirius stepped so that he stood on his broom, the arch of his feet balancing on its long handle. Circe's eyes widened in a mixture of awe and apprehension as his broom raised a foot off the ground, Sirius standing upright in the centre of it. "Think you can do that?" He said as he returned to the ground after hovering for a moment.

She nodded slowly and mumbled "I'll try."

"OK. First, put your feet on the broom," she did as he said, putting her feet in the exact same position that his had been. "Now, raise your broom a bit." Before her broom had even gotten an inch off the ground she tipped forward and landed right into him, he slid his arms around her. "Alright?"

Circe flushed and pushed herself out of his grip, standing in front of her broom again. "It's harder than you made it look." She scolded playfully.

Sirius shrugged. "Here, I'll do it too and you can lean on me a bit. Now, try again." Circe gave him a skeptical look but did as she was told, putting her feet back on the broom and resting the palms of her hands on his chest. He shivered a bit at her touch but she didn't notice.

"I'm ready." She said, looking up at him from under her bangs which had fallen across her eyes again. He brushed them away and smiled. "Up we go."

The brooms raised into the air until they were two feet above the ground. Circe slid a little and gripped his shirt, but did not fall off. He brought his broom a bit closer to hers and they rose another two feet. "Now, we're gonna stay at this height for a bit, OK?"

Circe nodded slowly, her eyes on the grass below. "Don't look at the ground," he scolded gently. She brought her head up until their eyes met and for an intense moment neither looked away. Her dark blue eyes stared into his, searching for something. Sirius's pulse quickened and his blood heated. What was she looking for?

Her feet shifted a bit on the broom and she almost lost her balance but he put his hands on her hips, keeping her still. She smiled slightly at him, but he couldn't manage one back. He wanted her so bad it was almost painful, and he was thankful for his baggy jeans and shirt that prevented her from noticing.

They rose another foot in the air at his urging. They were now five feet above ground.

"You're heart," she said, moving one hand over his chest causing him to shiver again. "It's beating really fast." She had an amazed quality about her.

"Yeah," he mumbled, and blushed a bit, preying she wouldn't notice. He fixed his gaze over her shoulder, trying to cool down.

"Afraid of heights?" She teased quietly.

He brought his gaze back to her face and memorized every feature. "No."

She raised an eyebrow, "Afraid of me?"

Yes, he thought to himself. But not exactly, he wasn't really afraid of her, more afraid of how crazy she made him feel. With any other girl he was easygoing and witty, but with her ... with her everything he did or said came out wrong.

He didn't answer her question and they hovered in an awkward silence for a minute. Not being able to stand it any more he removed his hands from her waist. "OK. I think you're ready to try it on your own. Slowly let go of me," he commanded.

Circe looked at him apprehensively and he reassured her, "I won't let you fall." She dropped one hand from his chest, almost falling for a second, but regained her balance. After a second she removed her other hand and stayed in the air on her own.

"I did it!" She grinned widely as they went back to the ground. He smiled shakily back at her and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to get away from her before he did something he'd regret. He was so turned on right now he was afraid it was going to kill him.

"Yeah. Well, we can go back now then." He was flustered and knew he must sound like an idiot.

"Wait," she said, frowning and glancing down at her watch. "It's only seven, aren't we going to practice some other training techniques?" Circe raised an eyebrow at him and smiled playfully.

"No!" She jumped a bit at the forcefulness of his response. "We could ... We'll practice some more another day."

"Come on Black, you said you'd help me train! Besides, you couldn't hope for better conditions than this." Circe pleaded, gesturing around the pitch as she spoke.

Sirius exhaled slowly and looked at Circe from the corner of his eye. The expression on her face was so adorable that he couldn't say no. He took another deep breath and tried in vain to cool himself down. "Fine."

"Awesome!" Circe smiled widely and went forward, giving him a hug. He was stunned by her excitement and stood awkwardly until she let go. She looked so amused at his reaction that he blushed again.

"Right," he walked away from her, trying to think of a technique that they could practice without being close together. If he had to touch her one more time he was convinced that he would just drag her into a bush and have at it. "We'll do dives." Sirius mounted his broom.

Circe sneered. "Seriously Black! I already know dives," she whined up at him as he circled the pitch.

"Well ..." he said, with a mock tone of concern. "If you think you're too good to practice the basics than we can always go in."

"UGH!" Circe glared at him as she mounted her own broom on raised herself up so that she was tailing him in the air. When she reached his side she muttered, "Let's go Mr. Black."

He proceeded to lead her through a series of dives, loops, and turns through which she excelled. Sirius, who had stopped to admire her as she pulled out from a difficult dive two feet above the ground, couldn't help but be impressed. She really was an amazing flier.

Finally, after another half-hour on the pitch, Sirius decided it was time to go in. Together, they walked silently off the field. Right before they entered the school, Circe stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for doing this Black. It really does mean a lot."

He nodded at her and shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Circe smiled at him and leaned forward intending to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Now, Sirius had not been expecting this and had turned his face to have one last look at the pitch when their lips met. He felt blood surge through him and was once again surprised at how much she was able to affect him with only the littlest of gestures.

She seemed just as stunned with him at the kiss and did not pull back right away. When she did, she searched his eyes once again, and once again did not find whatever it was she was looking for. Before he could do anything to stop her, before he even knew if he wanted to stop her, she turned around and headed back to Gryffindor tower.

Sirius waited a minute before entering the school, not wanting to have to walk up to the tower with Circe. Christ, he thought. Why did it have to be her, out of all the girls in the school? The one girl he loved was the one girl who didn't want him.

A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews!! I really hope you like this chapter. Things are begining to heat up and in the next couple chapters you'll really see some development! Keep reading!!