Chapter 1

Sirius: To be perfectly honest I'm not quite sure where it all started. I don't think that even if I could I would want to pin point the exact moment and time in which it happened. All I know is that I was so consumed in everything that was her. Her life, her love, her desire, it was like nothing I'd experienced before. The flame that ignited her life was vibrant and entrancing. Any guy could easily get caught up in her and lose themselves completely. It was like a spell, but the kind of ancient magic that no one can explain. Everything about her had a pull-attraction on me. I couldn't have stopped myself even if I'd tried.

I do however remember that day in which I first laid eyes on her. I'd known her all my life yet I'd never even seen her before. Funny how one second in time is enough to open ones eyes and make their world turn completely upside down. Little did I know at that moment that she would be the one to make me and break me; my greatest joy and my greatest sorrow, the one who'd turn my world upside down like no other.

Running through the nearly empty grounds of the Hogwarts castle, the clouds rumbled above my friends and me. We gasped for breath as we came to a halt and threw ourselves upon the grass. Peter was rolling on the ground resembling a large, plump pig rolling around in the mud. Twigs and bits of grass were clinging to his robes as he laughed the loudest of us all. James threw himself on the ground as well, holding his side and fixing his glasses on his nose. There were tears streaming down his red face. Remus, although he'd tried really hard not to, was also laughing. He turned his back to us and covered his eyes with the palm of his hand as he finally broke and let himself be carried away with laughter.

I joined my crazy lot of friends as I too threw myself down on the grass. I laughed heartily feeling the fresh grass prickle the back of my neck. Taking deep breaths my laughter along with the rest of guys' subsided. Eventually we all grew quiet, three of us lying flat on the grass and Remus sitting on a nearby rock. Peter suddenly began laughing again and soon we all joined him once more. Once our laughter had died down to just giggles I stared up at the cloudy sky and smiled. Life couldn't get any better than this.

"The look on his face was priceless!" Peter exclaimed cracking up all over again.

"I don't think I've ever seen Snivellus more livid than today!" James added sitting upright.

"Well, naturally, I don't think anyone can appreciate having their underpants jinxed so that a whole army of ants begins emerging from it!" Remus said patting down his hair. His face also flushed from laughter.

He was right, no one would appreciate it. And Snivellus would especially hate it, perhaps more the fact that we had actually gone through with it than anything else. As we'd exited Charms class and standing at a safe distance I'd aimed my wand at Severus Snape and muttered the incantation. Snivellus didn't even know what hit him...or should I say bit him? He suddenly started dancing around as the ants began to come out of his underpants. He slapped himself and shouted as he tried to kill the ants that never seized to stop crawling out of his underpants. Not being able to resist himself James began cackling in the middle of the hall. Snape had looked over at us and instantly understood what was happening. Once more we'd gotten the best of him and humiliated him in front of many students. Now a crowd gathered around him as he continued trying to kill the ants, everyone laughing. For a second Severus seemed to grow numb to the pain and the stinging of the ants' bites and aimed his wand at the first one of us he could get and began shouting curses. Unfortunately for him we were faster than that, plus we had the advantage that he had to keep trying to get rid of the ants. So we began running out of the castle, not just to get away from his pathetic attempt to jinx us back, but to make sure we weren't caught by any of the teachers

The clouds rumbled above us once more and there was a flash of lightning. I looked up as the gray clouds hovered above us. A drop of rain fell right between my eyes and I wiped it away with my hand.

"I think we better head back in," Remus said standing up. He too was looking up at the sky.

"McGonagall's probably looking for us," Peter said sitting up from where he'd been laying on the ground. "If we go in now she'll surely find us and give us detention."

I looked at Remus who now looked worried. He ran his hand through his sandy brown hair. He knew that no matter how little he was involved in our escapades he always ended up getting as much blame as the rest of us. I rolled my eyes, when would he learn to let go and live a little?

"Relax, Remus," James said apparently also having noticed the tension that Remus had began emitting. "Everything's cool. Snivellus can't prove we did anything. Isn't that right, Sirius?"

James was now looking at me and smiling. He was right, but we both knew he'd only said it to make Remus relax, because we all knew that by now Professor McGonagall didn't need any proof. Anything and almost everything that ever happened to Severus Snape a.k.a. Snivellus was usually our fault.

A soft drizzle was now falling on our heads and James and Peter stood up from where they'd been sitting.

"Well, it's not like we can stay out here much longer. It's either run from McGonagall or get soaked in the rain," I said.

Then we all turned and began walking towards the castle slowly, even though the water droplets were becoming bigger, heavier and colder. We were trying to take up as much time as possible perhaps in hopes that fate would be on our side and McGonagall would give up on trying to find us by the time we reached the castle.

Walking back to the castle we looked completely opposite to how we'd walked out - sullen and worried. Not that we regretted anything we'd ever done to Snivellus, it was just that annoying buzzing in our heads that told us Professor McGonagall or some other teacher would come looking for us to reprimand us for what we did. Remus out of all of us took it to heart the most.

The great oak doors that served as entrance to the castle were in view. I heard Remus sigh as we continued on our way, the rain beginning to fall heavily on our backs.

I took my first step towards the doors when out of nowhere came a girl dashing out of the castle and into the rain. We all froze in our tracks and stood in the rain as we watched and wondered what on earth was going on.

This is the point in which everything seems to get confusing for me, because I don't know when, how or what it was that did it but I stood transfixed as I watched this girl stand in the pouring rain, spread her arms out wide, lift her head to the sky and embrace the rain like a true gift falling from the heavens.

"What the heck's the matter with you, Miller?" James called out stepping unto the shelter of the castle. "Do you have a death wish or do you just enjoy making yourself sick?"

This girl, Miller, turned around and smiled at James. Her dirty blonde hair was completely wet now yet she looked at him like she hadn't a worry in the world. Looking at her straight now, I recognized her. It's funny how people can spend their entire lives looking at someone and never really see them. Audrey Miller was a seventh year just like me. She was also a girl from my house-Gryffindor. We'd been in the same classes the past seven years of our lives, but somehow I'd never given her the time of day. I never found it important to get to know her until that very minute. How could I have never seen her before- really seen her? How could she have gone so unnoticed all these years? How consumed had I been in my own world to never have even thought of getting to know her?

"Haven't you ever taken a shower in the rain, Potter?" she asked not showing any signs of wanting to get under some shelter.

"No, thanks, there's plenty of clean water in my bathroom," James said as Peter chuckled.

"Then you don't know what you've been missing!" she said.

She twirled letting the rain soak her wet and I found myself staring at her shamelessly. I'd always considered Audrey one of the prettier girls in the school, but that day she looked exceptionally pretty. I became fascinated with her obvious free spirited ways. I could not name any single girl inside that castle who would ever think of doing something as crazy as Audrey. Perhaps crazy wasn't the right word, because it wasn't crazy, but it wasn't 'normal', at least not for girls in general. Something in my gut told me that Audrey wasn't just like any other girl. My interest for her grew almost instantly. I wanted and needed to get to know her.

"Padfoot, you coming?" James asked snapping me back to reality. I looked at him still trying to process his question in my head. I saw that Remus and Peter had already gone in.

"Yeah, I'll be right there just give me a second," I said.

James looked at Audrey then at me. He then smiled knowingly gave me a pat on the shoulder before running off inside the castle. I turned back to watch Audrey in the rain. I leaned against the huge doors of the castle and watched her silently. It felt almost like spying on her for either she had forgotten I was still standing there or she was completely ignoring my presence.

Several minutes later Audrey began making her way back up to the castle. She frowned slightly at me once she saw me still standing there and I smiled.

"Had fun?" she asked as she stepped inside while squeezing water out of her hair.

"Apparently not as much as you did," I replied.

Audrey smirked and I followed her as she made her way into the Entrance Hall. She removed her soaking wet robes and threw them over her shoulder. Her uniform was completely wet and clinging to her body. I took a deep breath trying hard not to focus on how much more defined her body became with her clothes drenched. Drops of water were scattered on the floor as she walked inside.

"Do you do this every time it rains?" I asked trying to make conversation as I followed her.

"Usually, yes, unless I'm in class or sleeping," she said.

"Why?"

Audrey had begun climbing the marble staircase and had arrived on the first floor with me trailing behind when she paused and seemed to search for an answer.

"I don't know. It just feels good," she said. Her brown eyes turned towards me. "It's like my stress reliever."

I laughed. "What sort of stress could a girl like you have?"

"A girl like me?" she asked playfully as she resumed her stair climbing.

"You know, a girl like you who should have everything at her feet," I said.

Audrey stopped walking again and turned to look at me smiling. Her eyes locked with mine and I felt as though a thousand years had passed before me not being, not living until that very moment.

There was a twinkle in her eyes and I knew she'd caught my drift. I wasn't just making simple conversation.

"Well, I've hardly ever had anything or anyone at my feet, Black, but certainly it's never too early to start. Perhaps you know of someone who can show me?"

She raised an eyebrow as her smile turned into a smirk. I was left speechless at her comment. Was she actually flirting back? Had that been an invitation?

She turned around and continued making her way upstairs to what I figured was the Gryffindor common room. It was a while before I snapped out of my trance and I knew that it was obvious as I walked back down stairs and into the Great Hall. I lost interest in everything around me, my friends talked and it seemed unimportant to me. I couldn't get her out of my mind, and it was then that I knew that something bigger than Audrey and myself was about to happen.