Authors Note: Okay, another rather jumpy chapter. and WARNING to the kiddies, there is a makeout scene (not between Lily and James...tear of sadness I know) so if you are not into reading about kissing...skip over it.

Chapter 13

Tutoring

It was Sunday at last, and Sirius was excited and nervous. He had seen her with Lily in Hogsmede the previous day, which had been a puzzling experience. He would ask Lily about her today.

On second thought, maybe that's not such a good plan, thought Sirius, remembering her explosion at James. Well, she is mad at him, not me, so what could it hurt? he asked himself, getting out of bed.

He and James had overdone it a tad bit last night. It was a full moon though, and they had been out with Moony. They had been out rather late, and Sirius was sore all over. As a newly made animargus it hurt when he made the shift from man to dog.

He shook his hair out of his face where it was falling gracefully as always. He stretched his muscled arms over his head and yawned widely. Then he removed his shirt, revealing toned abs that were famous among a majority of the female population of the school, and changed into the customary Hogwarts robes.

Wormtail and Prongs were sleeping, they had been out late as well, and Remus was probably recovering from a night spent chewing on himself in the shrieking shack. Maybe it would be best if this Marauder handled the Lily flower alone. Or Moonshine as James had taken to calling her. Although he had not been calling her that lately, from what Sirius had noted. Maybe the two inseparables were in a fight? Was it even possible? She had hated him for years before now, of course, but Sirius had thought that she had been warming up to the idea of herself and Prongs again. Maybe he was wrong. "Morning Rose." Sirius said, entering the common room and finding Lily sitting cross legged on the couch and reading a thick book of some sort.

"That's a new one." She said somewhat coldly, merely glancing at him out of the corner of her eye before returning to her reading. "My name is Lily."

"Yes, but you're as beautiful as a rose that I sometimes get the two confused. Lily does not do the red of your lips and cheeks justice, oh beautiful rose-" Sirius said eloquently, never missing a beat. He was now down on his knees, hands outstretched, with every appearance of professing his undying devotion to her.

"What do you want, Sirius?" Lily demanded, cutting off his speech.

"And obviously as prickly as a rose too." Sirius commented, standing and sitting down beside her. She did not grace that comment with a response. "Whatchya reading?" He asked irritatingly, leaning towards her and preventing her from seeing the page.

"A transfiguration assignment." Lily said, snapping the book closed and almost closing his head inside.

"But it's a Sunday!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Thank you, captain obvious. I'll remember that all day." Lily informed him crankily. He could be very irritating when he so desired, and he was obviously bored right now and using her as an outlet. He could be so aggravating!

"So, had a good time in Hogsmede?" Asked Sirius placating, not wanting to get on Lily's bad side if he was about to inquire after her beautiful friend. And he did not want her to put in a bad word about him to Hazel. That would not improve his chances with her.

"Yes, thank you. Speaking of Hogsmede." Lily said, rounding on him.

"Yes?" He asked innocently.

"What were you and James doing in there? You know he's not supposed to go! How could you allow him to do that? You know he isn't allowed!" Lily said, enraged. "That's totally disrespectful to his mother!" Lily told him, turning red with her anger. So maybe she was over reacting a little, but she hated that they always thought they could get away with breaking the rules.

"But she'll never know, will she?" Sirius said roguishly.

"You just see if she doesn't know by tomorrow." Lily said, smiling calmly now. She had just gotten an idea to get James and possibly Sirius back for going into Hogsmede when they were not supposed to.

"What do you mean? Lily! Come back here Lily Evans!" Shouted Sirius, but it was too late, she had run out of the common room and into the hallway. He would have followed her, but he was sore and not in the mood for chasing. He didn't know if she was sad or happy or what, and he was not in the mood for tears either way. So instead he went upstairs to cause trouble. Maybe he would yell really loudly into Wormtail's ear and wake him up. Forgetting all about Lily and Prongs and Hogsmede, Sirius went upstairs to find whatever mischief was in the making.

Dear Anne,

It's been so long since I've talked to you. I wanted to thank you for all of your hospitality this summer, I really enjoyed staying with you, and your house is lovely. James says hello too. We were both happy to hear that you had decided not to prevent him from going into Hogsmede after all, what with all the complaints from his teachers and everything. The weather is great, and Hogsmede is really lovely this time of year, James and I are having so much fun poking around the shops. We're keeping an eye out for a lovely Christmas present for you too. I have something in mind, but I can't tell you as I want it to be a surprise. Thank you so much again,

Lily

Lily scanned her letter once, tying it to the leg of her owl, noting once again the similarity it had to James. She was proud of her idea. She would get James in trouble and still look nice. She would not get in trouble for that with anyone, and if James yelled at her...well he couldn't. How would he know it was her? Lily felt comfortable enough with Anne that she could write to her, and looked forward to seeing her reaction.

She felt a little guilty getting James in trouble, but he needed to know that he couldn't do things like that and get away with it. She pushed back her guilt as she finished tying the knot attaching the letter to the owl's leg, releasing it out the window. She smiled a little maliciously at the thought of how much trouble James would be in, and then went back downstairs, shivering a little from the cold air in the open owlery.

That afternoon at lunch Sirius sat next to her again. James was not there, and Lily did not even care where he was. Although she had to admit that she noted his absence with slight disappointment.

"So, Lily, we were talking about Hogsmede earlier, right?" Sirius asked, and before she could say anything in response he pressed forward. "You were there with Hazel, right? The tutor girl." Sirius commented.

"Yes." Lily said.

"I didn't realize you two were friends." Sirius noted again. Lily looked at him, but could tell nothing from his face. He was totally calm, with all the airs of holding a natural mean-nothing conversation.

"Yes, well, we are now. I didn't really know her before, now I do." Lily told him.

"She's smart." He said airily.

"And pretty too." Lily observed, trying to tell what Sirius was getting at.

"Yes." Sirius said, trying to look as unconcerned as possible. Lily saw through it.

"Look, Sirius, I hate to burst your bubble and all, but she's not like the other girls in this school. She's not going to fall for a few softly spoken words and a smile or two. She's smart, she works hard, and she has a lot that she wants. She has goals." Lily informed him.

"Like you." Sirius said, smiling innocently.

"Yes, and notice that I'm single." She said. "And don't think that flattering me will get you on my good side, or that I'll put in a word for you with Hazel." Lily told him.

"All right. Will you just tell me everything about her?" He asked with a sigh, but perked up slightly at the prospect of hearing about Hazel.

"You are such a dog." Lily told him. "You are like a little puppy dog, all enthusiastic, begging your master for a treat. And that's the kinder connection that I could draw from that simile." Lily said cryptically.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Not really very much of anything. Just that you do have a reputation with women that could lead some people to calling you a bit of an animal...or a dog." Lily said quietly, eating her food and pretending to be fascinated with something across the room. Sirius laughed.

"It's true." He conceded. "Hey! I'll be the first to admit that I've broken a few hearts. But is it my fault that women can't resist this face?" Asked Sirius, sticking out his lower lip.

"It is when you couple it with your insane amounts of flirting." Lily said cynically.

He laughed again at this. His laugh even had a bark like quality. Lily was rather proud of the connection she had drawn between him and a dog. A great big shaggy black dog, just like his hair. Lily added, smiling at the image that conjured. Sirius's hair was rather disheveled, although it flipped out at his ears at times when it was messy, and fell into his eyes when it was silky smooth. Either way it was hard to say he was unattractive. Even Lily had to admit he was good looking.

"Even you?" Asked Sirius.

"Even me what?" Lily asked, not understanding.

"Even you would fall for me?" Sirius asked.

"No way! I know you too well." Lily declared, punching him in the arm.

"All the better." Sirius said. "That way you won't be jealous when I got out with your friend." Sirius told her. Lily shook her head, very much doubting that Hazel would be another of his two second conquests. "That and Prongs would pummel me." Sirius said.

"Why is Prongs pummeling his fellow marauder?" James asked, coming up behind them.

"Marauder? Is this another nickname you have?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Yes." James and Sirius said in unison.

"Well your mate here, Prongs," Lily laughed a little when she reached the nickname, "was telling me how it was all for the best that I have no romantic interest in him because you would pummel him if he went out with me." Lily informed James.

"I probably would. Although I do rather hate you at the moment." James said, remembering their fight.

"Why is that?" Lily asked, who had forgotten about being mad at him as well.

"Because you yelled at me yesterday for no reason." James said. "And you are so temperamental. And emotional. And you are a total seesaw. One minute your yelling at me, telling me you hate my guts and that I can't be trusted and not to touch you, and the next your laughing with me and acting more friendly than ever." James told her in frustration.

"An emotional seesaw?" Lily repeated. "Temperamental?" She asked, echoing him. He nodded. "And I'm being too friendly now am I? You know what Potter, I had momentarily forgotten how angry you made me, but now I've just remembered." Lily rose from her seat and left the great hall to finish some of her homework.

"Well that was dumb." Sirius commented, as James took her newly evacuated seat.

"Her fault." He answered shortly, piling food onto his plate. "You never tell girls that they're emotional. Lesson number three hundred twenty seven. Never forget it." Sirius said. "And remember the whole concept of never her fault? It still applies." Sirius added.

"Well fine, your fault." James said.

"My fault?" Sirius echoed. "How is this my fault? You're the one who started the name calling while you two were having a totally normal conversation. And you're the one who can't just let her forget she was mad and accept it. You had to ask questions and be irritable, didn't you?" Sirius asked, smiling, taking much pleasure from James's irritation. Probably a little more than was actually healthy.

"The reason I'm irritable, Padfoot old pal, was because someone woke me up prematurely this morning by screeching in my ear. I wonder who that could have been? Oh, that's right, you!" James said, egged on by Sirius's calmness. Sirius laughed at the memory of James's facial expression when he had woken up. Sirius's laughter did nothing to sooth James's ill temper, and instead he found Sirius to be the scapegoat he was looking for. "Besides, how am I supposed to know when she's mad and when she isn't? She's impossible." James declared.

"Not impossible. No woman is impossible. She's just a bit of a challenge. I myself enjoy a good challenge." Sirius said smugly. "Maybe because even challenges for you consist of wooing for about two hours rather than one." James suggested mock-mildly.

"That could be it. Although it would be fair to say the same for you, so let's not be the pot calling the kettle black." Sirius noted.

"Try six years, Padfoot." James said morosely.

"Well that might be because you're a total dunce with women. I myself am working on a big challenge tonight." Sirius said confidently. "I'm betting on at least a week for this one, and only if all goes smoothly and I have not overestimated my charms." Sirius added.

"Well, you usually do. And I am not a dunce. It's just Lily, she makes me flustered. I never know what to say to her. She makes me scared. Besides, I've had lots of girlfriends." James said, trying to convince himself more than Sirius. It was true that he had had many girlfriends, but never Lily. Well, Lily, but only for short periods of time and very broken up. Sirius voiced this very thought. "Never Lily." Sirius said. "Because you are a dunce. You are unwilling to accept it when she stops being mad at you, which is really the source of your problems here." Sirius said.

"So, what do I do to get her to forgive me?" James asked. "I really didn't even do anything." James added.

"James!" Sirius rebuked.

"Okay, it was my fault." James said studiously, learning from his teacher, Sirius.

"Okay, so you want my advice?" Sirius said, reveling in it. "I think you should get over her. But as that's not going to happen, lay off. See how she likes it when you stop showering her with praise and attention." Sirius suggested.

"But I have!" James said. "She didn't even notice!"

But Lily had noticed, her heart gave a little pang every morning that went by without his 'Morning Moonshine.' She had grown accustomed to waking up and coming downstairs in the morning to find him waiting with a good morning and a smile. She missed it when it wasn't there, making her almost as irritable as James was, although she vented her energy in more productive ways. She, rather than yelling at her friends, spent more time studying and doing homework. That night Sirius arrived at the library, excited to see Hazel. When he saw her, she did not look as happy to see him as he had hoped. He beamed at her, coming over right away. She looked away, hiding beneath her fringe as she always did. He was about to look down in his sadness when she suddenly looked up, blushing, and flashing him a cute, rather reluctant, little smile.

He beamed even wider, if possible, at the sight of her pleasure at seeing him, At least he thought it was pleasure. Sirius was not one to analyze peoples actions, but he somehow could not stop himself from thinking about every subtle movement of her hand or twitch of her mouth. Maybe she was mad that he had come? Or maybe she was playing hard to get? What was going on inside that beautiful head of hers? "Tough potions assignment?" Asked Hazel as they sat down in the same seats they had used to previous night.

"No, actually we haven't had another potions yet." Sirius told her.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked him, making to stand. "I told you that I'd come, so I'm here." Sirius told her. "Well, if that's all you don't have to stay." She said to him, pushing her chair back, although she did not actually leave. He somehow sensed that she wanted to stay, although he was not sure if that was him making things up in his head or not.

"But I want to be here. I wanted to talk to you." Sirius told her.

"I'm here to tutor, Sirius, not talk. Besides, I thought you told me last night that you didn't want a friend." Hazel said skeptically.

"There's no one there. No one needs tutoring." Sirius said to her, first gesturing towards the empty library around them. "Besides, even if they did there are four others that can help. And I changed my mind. I do want a friend. I didn't think I did, that's not what I came looking for, but that's what I found, and that's what I'm hoping to get." Looking back to her and meeting her eyes, causing her to blush again. She looked down, not meeting his eyes. "Do you want to be my friend?" Sirius asked, hopefully.

"I don't know." She said honestly. 'Well, that's a good sign. She's not telling me to shove it, and I don't need to worry about her trying to be nice…' Sirius thought to himself, smiling at her on the outside. "I don't know, Sirius." She said again. "I've heard some things about you." She told him, sitting again.

"Like what?" Sirius asked. If she had been talking to ex girlfriends, then he had no chance.

"Well, these girls in my dorm-"

"Which girls are in your dorm?" He asked quickly, wanting to know exactly how bad the damage would be.

"There's Melanie Foster, for one. And then there's Hope Tellerman as well." Hazel said, giving him some names. 'Oh, shit. This was going to be bad. He had told Melanie that he wasn't interested in a relationship right now after dating her for two months. It had really only been because he had wanted to go to the school dance with someone else. He had later hooked up with Hope at the dance that he had gone to with the other girl, and then failed to ask her out, telling her that he was already in a relationship. So he had been a little drunk, so what? Everyone can make mistakes. He hadn't known at the time that Melanie and Hope were in the same dorm.' "And...what did they say?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"That you're flighty, a liar, inconsiderate a jerk, a cocky bastard-"

"Well, okay, you don't have to tell me everything the said." Sirius interrupted.

"A chauvinist, that you used them-"

"Enough! I don't want to hear it!" Sirius stopped her.

"But I'm the ghost of Christmas past." Hazel said.

"What are you going on about?" Sirius asked.

"Never mind...it was my dad's favorite film. We used to watch it together during the holidays." Hazel told him.

"Used to?" Sirius asked, picking up on what she had said at once.

"Yes." Hazel said, looking down. He thought he saw her eyes glistening just a little more than was natural.

"Why used to?" Sirius asked.

"He's sick now. But I'm going to be rich and powerful in the ministry one day, then he'll get his operation and we'll be a happy family again." Hazel told him, sniffing.

"I'm so sorry." Sirius said. "Is there anything you want me to do to help? How long has he been sick? Do you not want to talk about it?" Sirius asked, standing from his chair and going over to her. "No, it's fine. I don't want your sympathy." Hazel said sharply, jerking her hands away from him. He had sat on the floor beside her chair and was trying to take her hands to comfort her. he could see her shoulders quivering a little.

"Hazel, you have my sympathy whether you want it or not. Do you want to talk about him? Or would you rather not?" Sirius asked. "Not." She said at once. Sirius sighed, standing and going back to his chair. It was probably best, he was coming on too strong. She needed her space. She was rather like a wild animal that needed to be approached with caution so that it would not be scared away. Sirius did not want to frighten her or to make her think she was another cheap hookup like Hope had been.

"What do you want to talk about?" Asked Sirius.

"You can tell me about your family, if you like." She suggested. Sirius did not respond at once. He did not want her to know yet that he came from a totally dysfunctional family.

"How much do you already know?" He asked perceptively. He was not stupid, he knew people talked. Bellatrix had a particularly loud mouth.

"I know you ran away from home." She said, and did not sound at all pleased with the thought.

"Well you don't understand why. Let me explain it to you. My family hates me, they practice the dark arts. You would have run away too. I know it sounds bad to someone like you, with such high family values, but to me my only family now is the Potters. They were better to me than my family ever was. I ran away because I couldn't stand being around people who supported the killing of muggle borns. You know the bill that was suggested that would legalize the hunting of muggles? That was my aunt." Sirius told her.

"Oh, that's awful." Hazel said, appearing to actually mean it. "Well, don't get me wrong, some of my family is really great. Like Tonks, he's so cool. And my uncle Alphard is the man. And there are a few other family members who aren't so bad. It's just my mom and brother, and my dad. And a lot of my cousins. And most of my aunts and uncles. Three of my grandparents too." Sirius told her, contemplating his family tree.

"What about the fourth?" Asked Hazel.

"Dead." Sirius told her.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She told him. She was looking up again. She was apparently more comfortable talking about other people than herself. He would have to find a way around that somehow. They talked long into the night until long after the other tutors had left, and Madam Pince had extinguished most of the candles. They talked about lighter subjects than their families, laughing and joking with each other. When Madam Pince politely asked them to leave, as she was quite tired, Sirius walked Hazel back to the Ravenclaw common room. As he said goodnight to her, she managed a weak smile that gave Sirius a flicker of hope that she might be warming up to him.

Hazel

As she turned to leave, she gave him a slight smile. She had had fun with him. In fact, she hadn't even realized that it was so late until Madam Pince asked them to leave.

"Oh my god, who was that?" Demanded Hope as she entered the Ravenclaw common room. She was surprised to see Hope up so late, she was almost alone in the common room at this hour.

"What were you doing?" Asked Melanie, appearing around the back of a blue cushioned chair.

"That was Sirius." Hazel said simply, not caring to elaborate. Somehow it seemed too soon to talk about it. She didn't want people to know that she was spending time with him, it would ruin it somehow. It was just a little something, maybe a friendship someday, but right now she felt as if exposing it to these girls would ruin it. They would tear whatever little bud there was to shreds in seconds. "Sirius Black? You are not getting involved with him, are you?" Asked Hope, an expression of horror on her face.

"No, I was tutoring him at the library." Hazel said, searching for the only excuse she could come up with. She did not want to talk about it. She did not like talking to these girls. They weren't like Sirius, they didn't care about what her reactions to what they said would be. He seemed so concerned about what she wanted while they talked, always asking her if she wanted to talk about it, if she didn't, if she was tired, if she was comfortable. These girls would not look twice if she were writhing on the ground in pain, let alone the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Hazel went to bed shortly after that, not willing to prolong her interaction with Hope and Melanie.

Sirius

As Sirius turned to leave, his heart gave a small leap. Could it be that he had a chance at a friendship with Hazel? She was way too smart for him, but he had dodged that question about Hope and Melanie very skillfully. Sirius returned to the Gryffindor common room, rather elated from his late evening with Hazel. Sirius had enjoyed talking to Hazel, which was surprising as he rarely enjoyed talking to girls. There were, of course, other things that he enjoyed doing at night, but talking was not normally high on his list. He liked talking to Lily most of the time, except when she was in a temper, but it was different somehow with Hazel. Sirius collapsed onto his bed, gazing at the ceiling. That night, for the first time, he went to sleep without talking to James about what he had been doing. James would probably make fun of him if he found out he had been in the library talking to a tutor girl. Well, actually, not about the girl being a tutor girl. Because Lily was a tutor girl, so James would never make fun of that.

Sirius, if he had been asked, would have said that he was the last one back to Gryffindor tower that night. But if he had, he would have been wrong. Down in the dungeons Holly was still out, and very much awake. Although technically dating Edgar, that had never stopped her before. She was not with Edgar now, pinned against a wall. She was with Lucious Malfoy.

It had been happening for a week now, the kisses being slipped in secret, the little looks, the glances, the secret smiles. Holly and Lucious, a most unlikely couple. Hehad taken great pleasure in the idea of hooking up with Lily Evans's friend, Sirius's ex girlfriend. Especially since it was so secret too. Lucious Malfoy loved a good scandal, and Gryffindor with a Slytherin right now was about as scandalous as things got, especiallysince Holly wasso close on the inside, she was always so close to those at the hub of Gryffindor life. Namely the Potter boy and Sirius Black. That, compounded with her muggle heritage and his pure blood, made it that much worse. But she was so damn hot, he couldn't get enough of her.

Lucious had been walking down the hall behind her, and Holly had been late to class. Since she was late, she had been hurrying and had tripped, spilling her books across the corridor. Lucious, regardless of his own lateness, had stooped to help her pick up her books. He had offered her his hand, helping her to her feet. Holly smiled prettily, thanking him for help.

Later on Lucious had passed her and purposely bumped into her again, just enough so that she would drop her books. He had then quickly bent over to collect them for her. Holly, not realizing that he had bent down too, also went to recover her dropped texts. She collided heads with Lucious. He did not pull back, and held his head close to hers. She did not pull back either. From this close proximity, he was very handsome. His hair was soft and smooth, and very blonde. His eyes, although hard, were handsome, and would have been almost feminine, were they not so cold. The rest of his features were nice too, especially his mouth, perfect for kissing.

And so it had started. Holly had been seducing him ever since, twitching her hips a little more than usual, leaning ever so slightly towards him, angling her body just the right way. Holly was very experienced in this art, and knew exactly what she was doing. The best part was that no one had noticed or suspected a thing. Holly loved a scandal as much as Lucious, if not more. Tonight was the first time they had given in to temptation. As shehad beenwalking out of the dining hall that night he had whispered for her to meet him later that night. So she had gone, eager to see what it was all about, although she had a reasonably good idea.

He pinned her against the wall, kissing her passionately on the mouth. She moaned with pleasure as he moved from her mouth down to her neck, kissing her hard and biting her every once in a while, just enough to make her want more. She let her fingers roam free along his back, feeling his skin and thetensed muscles. She could sense his desire, the tension was palpable. He kissed her feverishly, wanting more. He shoved her roughly against the wall, returning to her mouth.They were startled from their kisses by a loud noise from a classroom nearby.

"Shit." Hissed Lucious, tossing her cloak at her where it had falled unheaded to the floor. She threw the cloak over her head, trying to conceal as much of herself as possible."Go, quickly, before you're seen." Lucious hissed quietly. "Not a word to anyone." He added. Holly snuck a last kiss before leaving, running her fingertip down his chest and smiling tauntingly. She was halfway down the hall when she heard footsteps chasing her. She turned quickly, trying to see who it was so she would know whether to run or not.

"Don't tease me like that." He said, bending over and claiming a last kiss goodnight. Holly smiled with satisfaction, she had him now. But what would she do with him? He was very cute, maybe she could keep him around for a while. But a secret, of course. With that thought in mind, she returned to Gryffindor tower, a smile on her face.

Earlier that night, Alice had returned from Hogsmede alone. Being exhausted, she had tossed her cloak onto a chair, forgetting the letter. The cloak hung off the arm, but the pocket fell hung open. The letter that Frank had received fell to the floor and fluttered open. A sleeping Alice did not notice.

Authors Note: Okay, some of that may strike the less deductive of you as totally random...but it isn't. And the bit about Holly and Lucious- it may seem random now, but it will be an interesting development, shall we say, later. Oh, and ps, Taylor helped me with these next few chapters, so thanks to her for being as obsessed by fanfiction as I am. and thanks to her also for helping me with the explicit makeout scene...haha. Oh, ps, the title of the next chappie, just a teaser, is A Death. Moohoohahaha. Any guesses? Cause you're wrong...well I dunno maybe you'll get it right. Taylor youdisqualified.