A/N: Dawn Umbridge-haters will love this chapter :)
The Catfight For Padfoot
April was standing outside Sirius' door at exactly fifteen minutes to seven that evening.
Sirius let out a low whistle as his eyes swept over his female visitor. April was wearing a fitting short leather dress, the colour of steel, that accentuates her sexy feminine curves without being over-the-top. Her smooth dark hair was set in loose curls that now tumbled over her shoulders and caressed her waist, framing her pretty face.
"You look great," Sirius said appreciatively and April blushed.
"Do I look better than Dawn Umbridge?" She tried to hide her embarrassment.
"You look way better than that woman anytime," Sirius replied in a gentle voice that caught April by surprise and made her blush even harder.
To hide her increasingly red face, April stepped past Sirius and walked towards the couch in his quarters.
As April sat on the couch, she became acutely aware that Sirius was still staring intently at her.
"Cut it out," she said uncomfortably.
"What?" Sirius blinked.
"Stop staring, will you?"
"Oh." It was Sirius' turn to colour. "Sorry," he muttered before tearing his eyes away reluctantly.
"She'll be here soon?" April asked to fill the awkward silence.
"We probably have ten more minutes."
"Oh," she said and silence took over once again.
"Would you like something to drink?" Sirius asked finally. "Butterbeer?"
"Do you have something stronger?"
"Vodka?"
"That'll do," she sighed. She did need a stiffer drink right now.
April mumbled her thanks as Sirius handed her the drink before settling down beside her holding his own glass of vodka.
April sipped the liquid and felt warmth flow through her cold insides.
"You reckon we'll be able to fool Umbridge?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know. My hands are getting clammy. I wasn't even this nervous facing that rat friend of yours. Oh good grief, why am I freaking out now?" April was getting annoyed with herself for being jittery.
Before she realised it, Sirius reached for her hand and held on to it. She felt a tingle all the way up her arm as his hands closed around hers.
"Even if we do not succeed, I'll still be grateful," Sirius said softly. He paused and added, "And I owe you a proper thank-you for getting rid of Pettigrew. Thanks, April. I really appreciate it." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and still did not let go.
"I told you I believe in being the damsel who rescues the hero," she joked and the awkwardness between them gradually melted away.
The pair chatted casually until they heard the sharp knock on Sirius' door.
"Looks like it's time to do some play-acting," April said grimly.
"You ready for this?" Sirius shot her a concerned glance.
April took a deep breath and nodded.
"Sirius darling!" Dawn Umbridge's high-pitched voice rang out loudly into the room as Sirius opened the door. He quickly took a step backwards, just in time to avoid her embrace.
"Hi there," April greeted, stepping close behind Sirius.
Dawn Umbridge's pouchy eyes grew more pronounced than ever as they widened when she noticed the unfamiliar female figure in the room. "Who are you?" she hissed at April.
April flashed her a megawatt smile as she took another step forward to stand beside Sirius. Dawn Umbridge looked at her with hatred as April casually slipped her hands around Sirius' arm.
"Sirius, aren't you going to introduce us?" April said in her sweetest voice.
Sirius was too, getting into the act. "Of course...Baby," he added the last word as an afterthought and April willed herself against showing her surprise.
"This is Dawn Umbridge, the Education Liaison sent by the Ministry. Umbridge, this is April Flamel. My girlfriend." He said the last comment slowly and clearly so that Dawn Umbridge would not miss it.
"Your girlfriend?" she croaked. "Sirius darling, you must be pulling my leg. Is this your way of testing my love for you?"
"I'm telling you the truth, Umbridge," Sirius said in all seriousness. "April is my girlfriend."
"Oh darling…" Dawn Umbridge began as she walked closer to Sirius.
April quickly stepped in front of Sirius, blocking him from the older woman. "If you're the Education Liaison, what are you doing here in my boyfriend's quarters?"
"A-ha! That's the thing. Sirius darling invited me for a private dinner with him tonight."
"I did not! You invited yourself over and I never did say yes," Sirius said immediately before looking at April and crooning, "she's the only woman I'll ever invite to my private quarters."
April beamed at him, trying to keep a straight face.
"That's not true!" Dawn Umbridge cried shrilly. "Sirius, you are mine. I am your one true love!"
"I understand from the professors and Remus Lupin that Sirius never had a serious girlfriend. Of course, that was before he met me," April show Dawn a look of sympathy. "You must be one of those poor souls who failed to win Sirius' heart. I heard he had so many admirers and a handful of them were even deluded enough to pretend that they are special to Sirius!"
Dawn Umbridge clenched her jaw and looked at April as though she would like to hex the pretty young woman. "You are the one who's deluded, girl. Sirius darling will never go for a young ignorant girl like you. He prefers a real woman."
"You call yourself a real woman?" April gave a snort.
"You insolent girl! I will not tolerate this! Sirius, do you want to teach her a lesson or shall I do it for you?" Dawn Umbridge shrieked hysterically.
Before Sirius could reply, April whose temper was rising, retorted, "Who do you think you are to teach me a lesson? You're just an old hag who's bothering my boyfriend!"
"How dare you! You're just a slut who's trying to seduce my man!"
"What did you just call me?" April's anger had reached boiling point. She grabbed her wand from the couch.
Dawn Umbrdge gave a horrible laugh. "Oh, I see. The young imprudent girl now wants to challenge me to a duel. I'll teach you a thing or two," she sneered unpleasantly as she held out her wand.
"You're on." April told her icily, eyes flashing dangerously.
"Stop it, you two!" Sirius stepped protectively in front of April to shield her from Dawn Umbridge.
"There's nothing to prove," he said frostily to the toadlike woman. "April is the only woman I love and will ever love for the rest of my life. I've never liked you, Umbridge. I do not even have one tiny bit of friendly affection for you. I've enough of your pestering and bugging me and I hope that I'll never see you again."
Dawn Umbridge stared back at Sirius, horrified. Then her face twisted in a terrible indescribable manner as she spat a warning to April, "I'll kill you. You must have put my Sirius darling under the Imperitus Curse. I'll kill you so that he can come to his senses and return to me."
"I'm never yours, Umbridge. It's time you come to your senses and admit it. I've never liked you and never will. In fact, you make me sick." Sirius shot her a murderous glare. "If you ever dare to harm April, I'll hunt you down and give it back to you tenfold. I don't care if it gets me a return ticket back to Azkaban or if I get the kiss of death for that. I'll kill you a thousand times over and make you wish that you were dead. Don't you even dare think of harming a hair on my girl."
Dawn Umbridge's face was screwed up in a grotesque manner as she realised her defeat. "I don't believe you really love her. You're lying!" she wailed.
"You want proof?" April asked.
Sirius turned sharply and looked warily at the dark-haired girl. He could recognise the expression on her face - it was the same one she wore on the day they first met. April had tricked him into making coffee for her while she sneaked into his bedroom and sprinkled itch powder on his bed.
But Dawn Umbridge was too focused on the young woman to notice the change in Sirius' expression.
"What can you prove?" she spat.
"We can do a simple test to prove which one of us Sirius prefers," April said with glee.
Sirius gave a slight frown. What is she up to this time? he thought furiously.
"We can each ask him to get something done by tomorrow morning. Whoever Sirius obliges will be the winner," April challenged.
"Fine," Dawn Umbridge accepted.
Sirius was desperately trying to catch April's eye to give her a warning look, but she was too preoccupied with her little plan to notice.
"Would you like to go first?' April asked.
Dawn Umbridge thought quickly. She would probably stand a better chance if she knew her opponent's choice so that she could outdo her. "No. You first," she replied slyly.
"Fine," April smiled at her, before turning to Sirius. "Honey, I want you to cut your hair before tomorrow morning."
Sirius' jaw dropped. "No," he said automatically.
"Ha! He will not do your bidding!" Dawn Umbridge cried in a triumphant voice.
April turned to address Umbridge, the smile still intact on her lips. "So I suppose you would like to bet that Sirius will not cut his hair by tomorrow morning?"
"Sure," Umbridge replied in a confident voice. "My request to Sirius shall be that he retains his locks."
"Good. It's a deal then. If Sirius cuts his hair by tomorrow morning, he's mine and you are to leave him alone and not bother him again. If he retains his locks, I'll leave the two of you with my blessings. Deal?"
"Yes." Dawn Umbridge gave a delighted little croak.
What does she think she's doing? I'm going to kill her! Sirius thought, trying hard not to let his anger show.
"Very well." April said, pleased. She took out a parchment and quill that Sirius had not noticed earlier. She quickly scribbled several lines on the parchment, scrawled her name at the bottom, and addressed Dawn Umbridge, "Let's make this official. I've already signed this." She handed the quill to Umbridge.
Dawn Umbridge looked at suspiciously, unwilling to accept the quill.
"Are you chickening out of our deal already?" April tauted. "You're scared. You know that you'll end up the loser."
"Scared? Of an incapable girl like you? Never!" Dawn Umbridge snatched the quill from April and wrote her name prominently on the parchment.
"Good," April remarked calmly. "I don't feel like having dinner anymore. We'll leave Sirius alone to decide for himself, shall we?" she said as she moved towards the door.
"Leaving so soon, sweetheart?" Sirius said in a tone he hoped conveyed his underlying threat.
"Sure, honey. I'll leave you to ponder upon your decision. I do hope to see a change of hairstyle tomorrow. I can still remember you looked really gorgeous in your short haircut when we first met," she said sweetly, mischievously ignoring his threat.
Sirius suddenly broke into a wide smile. Leaning over quickly, he planted a gentle kiss on April's lips. "Sweet revenge," he whispered in her ear before he moved away.
"Goodnight, baby. I sure hope it's not farewell tomorrow!" he said loudly, grinning from ear to ear.
It was April's turn to curb her anger. That jerk! How dare he! she cursed silently as she followed the deluded Dawn Umbridge out into the school corridor.
End of Chapter Twenty-Seven
Thanks for all your reviews of my last chapter! I'm glad that most of you were happy with the verdict of Sirius VS Remus :) And I must admit some of you were very observant…but I'll not deny or confirm anything just yet. It's better to read on and make discoveries along the way!
Diosa Alexia : I picture Lupin to be like Matt Damon – intelligent-looking but not too handsome. But of course, Lupin will be much slimmer. LOL
Someone Reading: No, there wasn't a vote because I've decided on the pairing when I first started writing this fic!
