Sirius' Jewel
A/N: okay, I am sooooooooo sorry for not updating sooner, but I got grounded for grades…so anyways I'm changing a few things, but I think you guys will like it. I've had some less than pleasant reviewers lately, and I would just like to say that criticizing and telling someone their story is crap is not a good thing. If you don't like the story no one's making you read it and may I just state for the record that in the books, JK Rowling says that Peter ISN'T good looking, so get off my case about it already those of you who don't like it. And I would just like to give a BIG, GREAT, GIGANTIC thank you to those of you who have been reviewing…I do accept constructive criticism. Anyways, thanks for reviewing and I'll stop talking now so that you can read the next chapter.
Chapter 9:
Okay, so, I'll admit it- I'm not that great at magic. Except charms, but that's beside the point. I have no trouble understanding the theory of it all; I just can't seem to get the practical part of it. I'd been able to fake it pretty well so far, but I knew eventually that someone would find out.
"Miss Starr, you've had this whole period to transfigure your rat into a goblet. You've made no progress." Professor McGonagall said, standing in front of my desk. "Can you tell me why?"
"Um…" I said, looking down at my desk. I didn't know what to say; I didn't want to admit that I was bad at magic.
"This has been becoming a regular occurrence, Miss Starr." She sighed, shaking her head. "And not only in here, but in also in several of your other classes as well. So, I'm afraid I'll have to assign you a tutor until you've improved. Stay after class and I'll tell you who will be tutoring you."
A tutor? Well, I had had one back at Polk and that did make things a whole lot easier. Maybe it would make it easier here too. So, I just sighed, slumped down in my seat, and stared hopelessly at my rat for the rest of class.
"Alright, you seem to be doing okay in Charms, History of Magic, and Herbology. But in Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts you're struggling. So, the top student from each of those classes will be your tutors." She said, as I walked up to her desk after the bell rang.
"And that would be who?" I asked.
"Mr. Potter for Transfiguration, Mr. Black for DADA, and Mr. Snape for Potions." She replied. Well, great, my least three least favorite people.
"Are you sure there's nobody else who can tutor me?" I asked, pleadingly. "Like Lily Evans?"
"Miss Evans is busy with Prefect duty most of the week and these three are the top the classes." She replied, shaking her head. "And you are on academic probation until further notice, which means no more Hogsmead trips and early curfew unless you're with a tutor."
"But Professor-" I started.
"Miss Starr, this is my final decision. You will meet with each of your tutors two nights a week, starting tomorrow with Mr. Snape. I will let them know and you can work out a schedule. Understood?" She said, firmly.
"Yes, ma'am." I said.
I spent the next day dreading the tutoring session with Snape. I mean, I hadn't said two words to Snape since that first night on the train.
"You're late." He said, coldly as I walked into the classroom.
"Look, you don't want to be here and I don't want to be here, so let's just get this over with. Okay?" I shot back dropping into the seat across from him.
"Fine, let's get started." He said, with a slight sneer.
For the next two hours I struggled to get the measurements right while Snape barked orders and snapped at me. By the time the session was over I never wanted to look at a potions ingredient again.
"Well, I guess you made some kind of progress tonight." Hr said, with a sigh, packing the ingredients up. "At least the potion was somewhat close to what it was suppose to be."
"Well, isn't that a relief?" I said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in my voice. "Look, let's meet back here, on Thursday same time." I added, turning away from him.
"It was really nothing personal, you know." He said, as I went to open the door. "On the train, what happened had nothing to do with you."
"Really? So, you just randomly picked someone to feel up?" I asked, acidly, spinning around.
"Look, I happened to have lost a bet to Malfoy and I had to do whatever he said." He replied, still packing ingredients away. "And that was to make a move on the first girl I saw along the train. It just happened to be you. I just thought you know that it wasn't anything personal."
"Oh." I said, quietly, looking at the floor. "Well, thanks for telling me."
"Yeah, whatever." He said, with a shrug. " I'll see you on Thursday. Maybe you will be able to do the potion right." He added, with a slight sneer. I just rolled my eyes and walked out of the room.
Did Snape just do something decent? This was mind-blowing! Maybe I'd been wrong about him.
The next night I had to meet with James for Transfiguration. He walked into the classroom in his usual arrogance.
"So, you need help with Transfiguration." He said, cockiness quite apparent in his voice.
"Look, Potter, just help me with this so we can get it over with." I said, icily.
"Oh, a little touchy, huh?" He said, rolling his eyes.
McGonagall wasn't kidding when she said James was the best Transfiguration student. He was brilliant. Which made me feel even stupider when I couldn't do simple spells.
"I have a question." He said, after an about an hour. "How were you able to do that Transfiguration project- on your own- when you can't even do quite a few of these simpler spells?"
"Well, it was a lot of hard work." I replied, not looking at him. "I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to them."
"That's really weird." He said, shaking his head. "I mean, you can do complex spells, but you can't so the basics."
"It's not that I don't know how," I said, getting a little defensive. "I understand the theory and everything. It's just that I can't control my magic that well. So, I have to work three times as hard to do the simple spells and it's damn near impossible to get the complex ones down. And the one I can't do are the ones I haven't practiced yet."
"Okay, settle down. I was just wondering." He said, holding his hands up. "But if struggle with magic, how come you have no trouble with Charms?"
"That's 'cause it's my favorite subject." I said, with a shrug. "My old school put a lot of emphasis on Charms, which was of the reason I was the top witch of my class there."
"But how did get through the other classes? I mean, sure, you could've practiced by yourself, but you had to have had some help." He said, confused.
"Oh, I did. I met with a tutor every other day to work on my magic." I said. "That's why I've been struggling so much this year."
The rest of the session went by fairly quickly. Now all I had to look forward to was the session with Sirius.
Sirius was late- as usual- and I was surprised he showed up at all. I'd already started practicing hexes and curses so that I wouldn't get in trouble. It didn't really work, considering it was only me.
"Hey, sorry I'm late." He said, running into the room. "Remus got sick again and I had to help him." He added and I wasn't sure whether or not he was telling the truth.
"At least you showed up." I said, with a shrug.
"Okay, so let's start with what you know how to do." He said, pulling out his wand. "What are the most advanced hexes you can do?"
"I can do the Jelly Slug hex- where you turn into half a slug and you arms become like jelly." I said, thinking.
"That's pretty advanced," He said, sounding impressed. "That's, like, end of sixth year stuff. What do you need tutoring for?" He added, frowning. Here we go, I thought.
"'Cause I can't do a simple stunning spell. In fact, I can't do a lot of the basics." I replied, looking at the floor.
"How can a pretty, smart witch like you not be able to do the basics?" He asked.
"My magic just works in a different way than everyone else's. It's kinda uncontrollable." I said, defensively. "And looks have nothing to do with it. I'm not pretty."
"You really are, you know." He said, quietly after a moment. "I mean, half the guys here wouldn't mind a date with you."
"Yeah, right." I replied, skeptically.
"It's true." He said, with a shrug. "You turn more heads than you think."
"Not if they knew what I really looked likes." I mumbled under my breath. But Sirius heard me.
"What's that suppose to mean?" He asked, curiously.
"As if I would show you, Black." I snapped, crossing my arms.
"Oh, c'mon, show me." He pleaded. God, he could really whine when he wanted to.
"Haven't you ever heard that curiosity killed that cat?" I asked, somewhat irritably.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not cat, then." He replied with a grin. I rolled my eyes.
"Let's just get started, shall we?"
And so it went. Classes during the day, tutoring in the evenings. Late nights doing homework and early mornings because I couldn't sleep. Although, I had to admit that since I'd begun tutoring I was doing better. And I noticed James and Sirius were much more tolerable when they weren't around each other. Even Snape was somewhat nicer when he wasn't around the Slytherins.
Out of the three, though, I found that I could talk to Sirius the easiest. It was weird, but he was a different person when it was just him. We talked about everything from school to families. His parents didn't care much for him either, so he could sort of relate to me. He was funny, sweet, and charming. Not charming like he was trying to get into my pants; charming in a way that made him attractive. Very attractive, in fact.
But outside of tutoring, he was cocky, arrogant, and a prick. The Sirius everyone knew and loved. Even so, I found my mind wandering to him and the next session with him. It wasn't until O.W.L.s were a week away that I realized that I'd fallen for him. The very thing I'd never wanted to do- but at the same time I was happy I had. I'd seen a side of Sirius that he kept hidden. And that made me feel kind of special.
A/N: okay, so I hope you guys liked it. please review! Thank you.