A/N: After thinking about it, and reading some reviews, I decided it wasn't fair to everyone who's been following this story to stop just because OotP blew all my preconceived notions about the MWPP era out of the water. So, I'm finishing this story. This chapter is dedicated to Sirius Black, ex-convict, Animagus, and mischief-maker extraordinaire.

"You're doing it all wrong, Figg," Sirius remarked lazily as he watched Arabella attempt to vanish her lizard. "The wandwork's all off—" James poked him and Lily sent a pleading gaze his way, both of which he ignored.

"Let's see you do it then," Arabella snarled.

In a flash, Sirius's frog vanished. James shook his head and Arabella gave Sirius a death glare. "Show-off," she muttered loudly.

"I'm sorry, Figg, did you say something?" It was a clear challenge, and Lily winced, knowing what was about to come.

Arabella tossed her hair and turned to face him. "Yes, as a matter of fact I did," she said loudly enough for the entire class to hear. "I said show-off."

"Excuse me," Professor McGonagall said from the other side of the room as she helped a Hufflepuff with her spell, "--is there a problem?"

"Oh, no problem, Professor," Arabella said in a falsely cheerful voice, "--just that Black here apparently can't resist a chance to show off every chance he gets."

The room went silent.

"Oh, really?" Sirius asked, his blue eyes glinting. "Well, I can't help it if you happen to be a complete dunce at this--"

Lily, despite her infatuation with Sirius, felt a surge of anger on Arabella's behalf. Transfiguration may not have come as easily to Arabella as Sirius, but she was far from a dunce at it.

"And apparently you also can't help the fact that you happen to be a complete--" Arabella said a word that made Lily's face go red and Frank to shake his head and say, "Oh, now she's done it."

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall roared. Arabella and Sirius broke off and stared at the professor in alarm. "That," Professor McGonagall said through gritted teeth, "--is--quite--enough."

The class looked at McGonagall with not a little trepidation. They had seen her annoyed before...but right now she looked furious.

"This is just the last straw. I cannot abide you interrupting this class, especially when we are covering something that I can assure you is going to be on your O.W.L.s."

Arabella and Sirius both looked down. "I'm sorry, Professor," Arabella said softly. "It won't happen again."

"It most certainly won't," McGonagall retorted. She straightened her robes and glared at the two of them.  "Because the two of you are going to work out your issues...in detention!"

"Together?!" Frank yelped in surprise and alarm. McGonagall turned to glare at him. "I mean, not to interfere, but--d'you think it's wise to--to put them together in detention? I mean--" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow and merely looked at him. Frank trailed off. "Never mind," he muttered.

~*~

"She did what?" Melissa asked, aghast. "Is she mad?"

"Apparently," Lily said. "Putting Sirius and Arabella together alone--it's just not a good idea."

"That's an understatement," Matt said as he walked up to them. "Look, Adam and James went to go see McGonagall. Try to talk her out of the joint detention."

~*~

"Professor, I'm begging you here--" James pleaded as he and Adam followed McGonagall down the corridors.

"Potter, I'm not changing my mind. Mr. Black and Ms. Figg are currently in detention, and they are going to stay there. End of discussion."

"I don't mean to be rude, Professor," Adam said in a rush, "--but what, exactly, is going to stop them from killing each other? We're playing Ravenclaw in two days and Sirius can't play if he's--well, y'know--dead."

McGonagall gave him a reassuring look. "Not to worry." She patted the pockets of her robes. "I've got their wands right here."

Adam looked down for a moment, then turned his gaze back up to her. "Okay, let me rephrase the question. What, exactly, is going to stop them from killing each other with their bare hands?"

~*~

All the fifth-year Gryffindors, along with the rest of the Quidditch team, were sitting in the common room, anxiously waiting. For Arabella and Sirius to return safely, or for the more likely news that they had managed to rip each other apart. Meanwhile, they were predicting gloomy, although probably accurate, ideas of what exactly was going on in that detention.

"Maybe he's strangling her."

"Maybe she's gouging his eyes out."

"You think if he got mad enough, Sirius would grab a chair and just bash her over the head?"

There was a pause as everyone considered that idea.

"Yeah, maybe he's doing that."

"Maybe," Frank said, getting annoyed with the morbid tone of the conversation, "--they really are working out their problems in there." Everyone stared at him. He paused, then leaned back in his chair. "Wow. It really didn't sound that naive in my head."

~*~

Arabella, from her position on the floor, glared angrily at Sirius, who was sitting on the one bench provided in the dungeon. There was enough room for two on the bench, but Arabella frankly refused to share a bench with Sirius Black, aka The Insufferable Git. It was bad enough she had to breathe the same air as he did; she was not sharing a bench with him.

"This is all your fault, you know," she grumbled, her arms folded.

Sirius stopped staring out the window as if he'd like to jump out of it (McGonagall had charmed it so that was impossible, just in case) and stared at her instead. "Oh, that's right, Figg, blame everything on me. Why don't you blame world hunger, Voldemort, and the Cannons' consistent losing streak on me while you're at it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Sod off," Arabella muttered. "If you hadn't opened your fat mouth in Transfiguration, we wouldn't be here."

"Hey, I was just telling the truth. Your wandwork was all wrong--"

"Like you cared about my wandwork. You just wanted another excuse to show off."

"Oh, please. Face it, Figg. You jump down my throat every chance you get--"

"No, I don't. I can't help it if everything that comes out of your mouth makes you look like a complete prick. Oh, wait, I forgot. You are a complete prick!" Arabella was unprepared for the rush of relief she felt. It felt so good to spit things out that she'd been waiting to say for ages, to know that there was no one there to say 'Stop!'

They glared at each other for a moment. Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"How's Liam?" he asked mockingly.

"Leave him out of this."

"Oh, but let's talk about him, shall we? Let's talk about how you seem to like egotistical, stuck-up, utterly boring prats?"

"Well, obviously I do," Arabella practically snarled. "I kissed you, didn't I?"

Time stopped. Arabella ceased to breathe. She had not just said that. There was absolutely no way on earth she could have said that. She would never say that, under any cirmcustances, the Cruciatus Curse included.

But she had.

Sirius's eyes were just as wide as her must have been at that moment. After a long, long silence, Sirius spoke. He sounded stunned. "Maybe...maybe McGonagall was right. We do need to talk."

She said nothing, only stared at the floor, her face burning.

"I'll start."

She shrugged, managing to look anywhere but at him. "So start, then."

A/N: I'm just evil for stopping there, aren't I? ~gulps at the torches and pitchforks pointed in my direction~ Hey, at least I updated! Doesn't that count for something? ~a pitchfork is waved in my face~ Apparently not.