"You're so much like your father Addie," my mother said warmly from beside me.

"How so?" I asked curiously, looking up from my book to meet her gaze.

"He was also the silent and mysterious type. Every girl wanted to see if they could break through his façade and truly get to know him. But he only ever reserved that for his close friends. It's also what makes him such a good auror," my mother explained kindly, but I knew her reminiscing had an ulterior motive.

I looked at my mother and watched as she presumably remembered herself and my father from their school days. She then turned her gaze and I could see the worry behind her eyes. I had never been the most confiding person, and as close as I was to my parents, my mother and I did not have the typical mother-daughter confessional relationship.

"I'm not being mysterious," I muttered, flipping the text book open again in my lap.

"Adeline, you've been acting distant ever since last term," mum tried again, putting her hand on my lap.

"Adrian is just acting like a brat. I mean how can he act like that when there is a war out there?" I asked in an annoyed tone, also trying to subtly keep the focus away from me.

Adrian had not taken me breaking up with him very well. The entire Hufflepuff team even rallied together to give me unsubtle, pointed looks whenever I passed, usually followed by some quiet, snide remark. This eventually abated after about a month, but then Adrian had tried to make a scene at the pre-Christmas function for the Slugclub. Thankfully, Lily came to my aid yet again and told him off before we drew too much attention. This didn't hold a candle to James and Sirius though. I had been fairly unsuccessful in preventing them from hexing him a couple of times in the corridors. They were much sneakier than Adrian was and planned out their retribution. I knew James still felt guilty about the whole thing, but I knew I was better off. Sirius in turn had also been very protective of me, always keeping close to make sure no Hufflepuff had a spurt of tactless bravery and hexed me or anything. This is one of the reasons Sirius had begged for me to bring him as my date to the Slug Club pre-Christmas soiree. The other reason had been to keep a careful eye on James on his official first date with Lily.

"Addie, that is precisely why he is focusing so much on the break-up. He wants a distraction from reality," mum reasoned in a sad tone.

I pondered her reply and unwillingly started to feel sorry for Adrian. Even though he had been acting like a git, maybe it did mean he couldn't handle the reality of the war. Maybe he was using our failed relationship as a scapegoat for his fear.

"Forget him Ly, Adrian is a supremely major git," Sirius exclaimed as he entered the room with James at his heels.

I looked up at the two boys, relieved for the distraction from my mother's attempt to get me to talk about myself. I also noticed that James was running his hand nervously through his hair. He hadn't personally brought up Adrian since the night I ended it, despite all of my friends continually bringing it up.

It had been two months since the initial Slug Club gala, and I had quickly gotten over it. My friends had kept more of a grudge, meaning they almost wanted Slytherin to beat Hufflepuff during their November match. But James kept uncharacteristically quiet about it. Part of me believed this had something to do with Lily, and the fact that her and James became an item that night as well. Apparently, according to Blythe and Elodie, Lily had walked with him through the corridors in an attempt to stop him both from going after Adrian and to convince him he wasn't at fault. It also ended with the two of them snogging in the Charms hallway until Peeves unceremoniously disrupted them in some rude manner. I had covered my ears at this point in the conversation while Elodie and Zelene tried to give me all the small details.

I was truly happy for Lily and my brother and their crazy love story. I mean, I still couldn't believe she said yes after nearly seven years of James' persistence. Initially I had been afraid of James' ego flaring, finally getting the girl of his dreams. However, Lily somehow had the opposite effect. James, although boastful about his new girlfriend, never gave anyone any details about her. He was also a little less arrogant and more mindful of those around him, or at least Lily for a start.

"You look dashing James," mum awed a little provokingly as he took a seat with Sirius in the opposite loveseat.

"Well, I did just pry him away from messing over his hair," Sirius added with a smirk.

"Leave it alone!" James chastised as Sirius went to touch a small piece of James' hair which did look meticulously put in place.

He had tried to abandon his broomstick look where he took his already messy hair and carved it in a way that looked like he was always stepping off the quidditch pitch. This time, it looked like he had taken some of mum's products to straighten it all out and then brushed it off to the side. This look must have honestly taken him hours.

I stifled my laugh, observing James and his nervous habits. He was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt sleeve, fighting his life-long tendency of running his hand through his hair again.

Just then there was the sound of the bell, indicating that someone was at the front door.

"I'll get it!" James leapt off the sofa almost as fast as he glided when he saw the snitch on the field.

"Someone's eager," Sirius smirked, watching his best mate bolt into the front hall.

"I'm a little excited to meet her after all this time," my mother added in an intrigued voice, also standing to follow James out of the room.

I already heard my father's voice at the door. He had honestly probably been waiting out of sight, wanting to beat James to open the door when she arrived.

I shook my head and remained sitting, knowing my parents and brother would eventually lead the guest of honour into the sitting room eventually.

"Do you think Evans knows what she's in for?" Sirius asked with a grin, still looking towards the front entrance even though there was no clear sight line to the door.

"She must have had some sort of clue after knowing James all this time and finally agreeing to go out with him," I replied with a shrug.

"Yea, well you do balance out the Potter image a little, being more discreet than James and all," Sirius replied, turning his gaze towards me with an easy smile.

"Well, I may have forgotten to mention that our parents have also been aware of his infatuation since its inception," I replied deviously, letting a small smile form across my lips.

"Man, if anyone knew better, I would say you are even more devious than James. You're more purposeful, which is just unnerving," Sirius said while continuing to smile at me.

I stared at the boy who had been like a brother to me over these past several years. His constant presence in and around my life was as comfortable as it was with James, but was he really like a brother? I continued to observe Sirius, who confidently held my gaze with an easy smile. I held back any reaction from reaching my face, but felt I no longer had a category to place Sirius in. I felt he was more intimately connected with my life than Peter or even Remus. I shared most of the same things with him that I did with Blythe and felt the most comfortable confiding in him. Plus, I felt much more at ease around him than I ever did with Adrian; Adrian had just been what seemed like a charged moment. It was fun while it lasted with the feeling of something new before it dove out of existence. But why would I ever compare Sirius to Adrian?

"Addie!" I heard my name exclaimed from the door of the sitting room.

I looked up to see an already out-of-sorts Lily with a look of relief across her face when I met her gaze.

"My parents already wear you down?" I asked, standing to give her a hug.

"Of course not," she said almost convincingly.

I laughed, "They're just excited to meet the girl James has gone on about for the last seven years."

A deep blush crossed over Lily's face as my mother let out a nervous chuckle.

"Adeline, we are just pleased to meet James' new girlfriend," my mother reassured as she started to pour the tea my father brought into the room.

"Yes, don't make the poor girl nervous Adeline," my father added, patting me on the shoulder.

I looked over to see James and the visible sweat on his forehead.

Sirius, thoroughly enjoying himself, let out a hearty laugh before putting his arm over Lily's shoulder.

"This is going to be a great evening!" Sirius added, causing Lily to laugh as well.

The rest of the evening was rather pleasant as we shared stories, mostly at the expense of my older brother.

"Wait, so James almost burned the house down?!" Lily asked before looking over at James disapprovingly.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that, I had just gotten my want and wanted to try it out!" James retorted, trying to preserve his pride.

I let out a laugh before James' darkened look turned on me.

"Hey, it's not like Addie is so innocent. You guys make it out to sound like I'm the only one who ever get's into trouble," James countered.

My father scoffed. "James, my study is full of letters from your school to suggest otherwise. We haven't nearly gotten as much feedback on Adeline's so called troublemaking."

James crossed his arms and Lily surprisingly looked sympathetically towards him. I smiled looking at the two despite James' scowl since it really did see, Lily's perception of my brother had changed. My gaze shifted towards Sirius who was giving me a look that almost seemed like he was proud of me and my lack of letters home from Hogwarts. It seemed Sirius was always praising me for my more thought out methods.

Garrick eventually came and cleared the dishes which prompted us to move into the sitting room for after dinner tea. I knew my parents were enamoured with Lily which meant she would be easily accepted into the family just as Sirius had been. When the evening was over we all waved at Lily who was standing in the driveway before she turned on her heel and clicked out of sight as she apparated back to her place.

XX

Tonight was New Year's Eve and this year my parents had decided to host a party at the mansion. James and I had also been allowed to invite our friends from school which made James eager to have Lily over again.

I was sitting in my room as I fixed my evening dress at the insistence of my mother. I chose to wear the same dress I had at Slughorn's party where I had also dumped Adrian. I really liked the purple scoop-necked dress and didn't want that idiot being the reason I never wore it again. Even from my bedroom I could already hear my parents out in the kitchen entertaining the first few people to arrive. Moments later when I heard another sound of the doorbell it prompted me to go see who it was. I knew my friends were supposed to arrive soon and didn't want to miss the opportunity to greet them. Walking down the hall I already knew who it was since I could hear James talking with them.

"Happy New Year's Addie!" Elodie called out as she came over to hug me.

"Happy New Year!" I replied as I embraced her before moving on to greet Wendall who seemingly accompanied her here.

"Are the others here yet?" Elodie asked.

I shook my head and led the two of them into the sitting room where I offered them some punch from the bowl my mother had set up.

"Addie!" I heard my name being called out before I looked up to see Zelene and Fern entering the room together a few minutes later.

After fixing them with their own refreshments we sat on the couch waiting for Blythe and Max to show up who would be the last to arrive.

"So, how was everyone's holiday?" Fern asked everyone.

"It looks like your brother is really enjoying the holiday spirit," Elodie remarked as we all turned to look at him standing rather closely with Lily. The rest of the Marauders were also here, standing off to the side with Sirius as they watched James as well.

I caught Sirius' gaze which prompted him to roll his eyes. I could tell by his expression that he already thought James was acting obnoxious. I smiled back in agreeance before turning back to my friends. While we waited we caught up on everyone's holidays until Blythe and Max arrived.

"Great, we're finally all here!" Elodie exclaimed excitedly as she unfurled her bag and took out a small vial.

"What is it El?" Zelene asked looking intrigued.

"Truth serum," she replied excitedly.

"Wow! Not a lot of wizards know how to make it properly, that's so cool!" Fern said looking rather impressed.

"How are you going to use it?" Max asked as we all passed the vial around to examine more closely.

"With all of you of course!" she replied cheerfully. "My aunt is a master potions maker and gave me something really special since I turned seventeen this year!"

"We should play truth or dare!" Blythe shouted eagerly.

Everyone nodded at the idea.

"Are you sure this is what you want to use your Christmas present for?" I asked, thinking it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Elodie to have this potion.

"What, are you scared we'll learn all your secrets?" Max asked provokingly.

I shoved his shoulder before lifting my glass of punch for Elodie to pour a few drops into it.

"Elodie, you go first!" Fern exclaimed.

"Alright, Zelene. Truth or dare?" Elodie asked.

Zelene took a sip from her cup before answering. "Truth."

"Are you ever going to tell Remus how you really feel?" Elodie asked with a grin.

Zelene blanched, probably regretting having Elodie to go first.

"No," Zelene answered, looking rather small compared to her usual larger than life personality.

"You should Zel, this is the only life we get, why not take a chance?" Elodie asked, not wanting Zelene to doubt herself.

"I know there's something he's not telling us and until we know what that is I don't think I have a chance at dating him," Zelene admitted.

My eyes widened at her but she thankfully didn't notice since Zelene was still looking at Elodie. I hadn't realised that Zelene at least caught on to the fact that Remus was a werewolf without truly knowing the secret itself.

"Alright Zel, you get to choose next," Elodie said.

"Potter, it's your turn!" Zelene replied more enthusiastically as she rallied back to her usual self.

"Dare," I replied instantly, not really ever being the secret telling sort of person. And my track record for pranks and mischief made me confident in my abilities to carry out any dare.

Zelene smirked at me as if she was expecting my answer but still had a plan. "I dare you to kiss the most attractive person in the room."

I kept my face neutral but my insides had erupted into butterflies.

"Ah Merlin don't make it awkward Zel! I don't want to kiss Addie," Max said as he turned to face me.

"You idiot, she is not going to kiss you!" Blythe replied before smacking him over shoulder.

I continued to stare at Zelene and could feel my mouth forming his name on my lips.

"Don't tell us who it is, you just have to go kiss them," Zelene said with a challenging look.

I scrunched my eyebrows before resolutely standing up and headed away from my group of friends. Since Zelene had told me not to say his name out loud it seemed like my feet were carrying me towards him without my permission.

"How was it not me?!" Max exclaimed. "OW!"

I figured Blythe must have hit him again. I could also feel their intent stares as I approached him. He was still standing where he had been when I met his gaze a few minutes earlier. He was currently talking with Remus and Peter and I felt the dread that this truth serum wasn't going to let me ask him to at least step away from them before I kissed him.

"Hey Ly," Sirius said smoothly as he paused his conversation to greet me. "What's going on?"

He looked a little confused as I continued to walk towards him until we were practically toe-to-toe.

"What the—" Sirius started but stopped as I quickly brought both of my hands to his cheeks and pulled him down until his lips met mine.

I felt my cheeks flush with heat as the embarrassment flooded through my mind. Not only was this not the first kiss I had shared with Sirius but admittedly because of the truth serum, I didn't want it to stop. Sirius' lips were still for only a moment before his initial shock wore off and he returned the kiss with his own brand of wanting. I could feel as his lips traced over mine and filled me with warmth that suggested that maybe this kiss wasn't completely unwanted on his end.

When my sense of pride returned a few moments later I pushed myself away. However, my friends made sure that I wasn't let off the hook so easily as they audaciously applauded me.

"What's going on with you guys?" James asked, taking his gaze away from Lily at the sound of my friends acting so boisterous.

James followed their gazes to see that I was still only standing a step away from Sirius. Sirius on the other hand was looking at me with a mixture of emotions swimming over his face.

"Sirius, care explaining this?" James asked, now sounding irritated.

Instead of replying to James though, Sirius grabbed onto my arm and pulled me towards the front door and out onto the front steps.

"So, I feel like I have the right to know what happened back there," Sirius started as soon as the door was shut behind him.

Despite the high level of mortification I was feeling, Sirius was looking at me with a kind smile.

"Elodie gave us all truth serum and we are playing truth or dare," I replied obediently. "Dammit!"

I felt angry with myself for instantly answering Sirius' question so blatantly.

Sirius looked at me another moment before he broke out laughing. "So, one of them dared you to kiss me?"

"No, they dared me to kiss the most attractive person in the room," I felt my cheeks heating up and wanted to melt into the falling snow out of embarrassment.

Sirius stopped laughing and looked at me more thoughtfully. "Alright, I feel like I'm at a compete advantage here. But, I don't want to coerce information out of you. So, I'll only ask one more question; is there anything you want to tell me?"

Sirius looked at me with a softer smile than I was used to. Instead of his typical swagger he looked vulnerable standing in front of me. Several truths swam into my mind but I pushed them all back. Thankfully it seemed the serum as wearing off but I couldn't ignore that despite how embarrassed I felt, I was finally facing the reality that I liked Sirius Black. So, instead of confessing a whole bunch of romantic nonsense I stepped forward and looked up into Sirius' gray eyes. He still had the same look of vulnerability in his gaze as he brought his hands so they folded over my cheeks. He then brought his head down but paused with a questioning look as if he was asking for my permission. Instead of answering I filled the space between us until my lips were on his. This time, since we were both expecting it, Sirius didn't pause. Immediately his lips felt urgent as they moved over mine. His hands moved from my cheeks down so they gripped onto my arms to root me in place. This allowed him to push his face forwards so his lips pressed harder onto mine. I had never experienced a kiss like this before and realised that without saying it Sirius and I were admitting that we both had some pretty intense feelings for each other.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on out here?!" James interrupted as he threw the front door open.

Sirius immediately broke apart which caused my anger to rise for my brother having his usual impeccable timing to ruin a good thing.

"James, why are you out here?" I asked, looking over to see Lily pulling his hand trying to get him back inside.

I could also see my friends off to the side who also looked annoyed at James. I figured they were probably the reason I had gotten this much privacy with Sirius until James finally got passed them.

"Addie, you—you can't be snogging my best mate!" James shouted irritably.

I moved to stand in between Sirius and James. James looked like he was gearing up to do something he would regret and Sirius was remaining uncharacteristically quiet.

"James, butt out. Sirius is my—" I paused abruptly as the last remnants of the truth serum wore off.

I was left standing in the middle of a very charged situation as my reserve and embarrassment returned.

"Her boyfriend," Sirius replied evenly.

I whipped my head around as I heard the excited gasps and whispers from my friends just inside the door.

"Her what? There's no way!" James roared but Lily pulled his hand back which surprised James enough to stumble backwards.

"Let them be as happy as we are James, they're your best friends and Addie is your sister. It's been pretty obvious to everyone except you and I will not let you and your arrogance mess this up!" Lily said more severely as her own temper flared.

James looked torn and frustrated but finally relented under Lily's stern gaze.

"You know, I never thought anyone was good enough to date my little sister. But, at least this way I trust who she's dating," James said sounding defeated but Sirius and James shared a knowing smile.

"Alright, now let's go!" Lily exclaimed before she reached out and closed the front door behind her so that I was alone again with Sirius.

"So, that was rather sudden…" I started, not liking how quickly my heart was beating.

"Are you kidding, I've been waiting for this for a long time. Remind me to properly thank Elodie later," Sirius said as he moved again to wrap me up into his arms.

"Yea, you're right. I think I've wanted this for a long time too," I replied before I let Sirius kiss me again, thinking that this time around Sirius had acted properly on getting me to be his girlfriend on New Year's Eve.