Disclaimer: Anything relating to the Harry Potter stories belongs to J. K. Rowling. She can have my characters and ideas as well.

CHAPTER 19

Sirius was sitting alone at a table in the Great Hall. There was breakfast on the table, but he didn't feel like eating just yet—his head was feeling too heavy. He had somehow woken up at the crack of dawn and couldn't get back to sleep. He had a strange feeling that something had happened last night, but he didn't know what it was. When he became too restless, he decided to go down to breakfast. Sirius sat in the almost empty hall with his elbows propped on the table and his hands on his face, trying to remember what exactly happened the night before. The only thing he was totally sure about was the fact that he had gotten into another fight with Nina and that she probably hated his guts now. He had lost his temper and stormed away and headed straight to Hogsmeade and into Madam Rosemerta's. He couldn't remember how he found his way back to school. There was someone with me though—I remember. A girl. Who was it? I hope it wasn't who I think it was. As all these thoughts were passing through his mind, he didn't notice a certain girl come and sit near him at his table.

Nina didn't want to get out of bed so soon, but she knew she had to finish breakfast early so that she could send her letter to Sean. When she got to the Great Hall, she was surprised to see Sirius sitting at a table by himself. She thought he would've slept the whole day through, considering he would probably have a really bad hangover from the night before. Sirius looked like he had fallen asleep; he hadn't moved an inch since she sat down at the table. His face was buried in his hands.

The sound of someone clearing her throat made Sirius look up. Nina was sitting near him and looking right at him, with a slight frown on her face. Sirius frowned back at her, and Nina gave him a tiny smile and turned her face away and started to eat breakfast. Did she just smile at me or am I imagining things? Sirius thought. Shouldn't she be even more pissed off at me now for yelling at her last night? Unless…

Sirius sat up and started to force some breakfast into him, stealing the odd glance at Nina every now until the others finally joined the table for their breakfast. Nina was about to go and send her letter when the owls came swooping down delivering letters and packages to the students.

Nina was surprised to see her own owl, Archimedes, come and drop a parcel onto her lap. The box was the size of the palm of her hand. She opened it and inside as a crystal rose. There was a little card in it that said "Just because….Love, Sean." Oh boy. Nina thought to herself. That's pretty damn cheesy. I hope my mother didn't see that! Because Sean didn't know about her going to Hogwarts, she had made up some excuse and told him that if he ever wanted to send something to her, to send it through her parents. Now that her owl was there, she didn't have to go and send her letter through a school owl. She tied the letter to its leg and it flew off.

"What's that, Nina?" Lily asked looking at the flower.

"Oh…nothing." Nina said stuffing the rose hastily back into the box.

"Ooh, did that come from Sean?" Sara asked excitedly.

"No…my parents." Nina said, which technically, was true.

"Yeah right." said Sara, rolling her eyes. "Nina, you're still so shy that you can't even admit to getting a gift from your fiancé."

"No." Nina said defensively.

"I bet you haven't even kissed him yet, have you?" James piped in.

"What?" Nina could feel her face getting red.

"James!" Lily scolded him. "That's none of your business!"

"Well, I'm just saying…" James started to say before Lily gave him a stern look and he shut up quickly.

Nina got up from her seat before anyone could tease her some more, "I have to go drop this off. I'll see you guys in class. Someone save me a seat." She looked over at Sirius as she walked out and saw that he was trying really hard to suppress a smile. Nina scowled at him and left the hall.


They had a Muggle Studies assignment due in two days, and they hadn't even started it yet. Nina was feeling really awkward. She and Sirius still hadn't exchanged even one word to each other, and yet they were around each other the whole day. He even sat next to her during dinner. At one point they had both reached for the pitcher of pumpkin juice at the same time, and then they both retreated. Sara started to say something to Nina so she turned her head, and when she looked back, her glass was full of juice. She turned to Sirius, but he was busy talking to James so she didn't say anything to him.

Sara, Sirius and Nina met in the library later in the evening. They were all quietly working when Sirius looked up and spotted Dana Abbott smiling at him and walking towards their table. This girl never quits, does she? Sirius stole a quick glace at Sara and Nina and then looked back up at Dana and gave her a smirk.

Nina and Sara didn't notice Dana's presence until she was right next to Sirius. Sara looked at Dana with a raised eyebrow. Nina didn't look up from her work, but she knew Dana was there. Does this heifer always have to be in the library when we are? Dana whispered something in Sirius's ear and he looked a little confused at whatever she was saying, but then he bit his lip and smiled. He whispered something back to her and she giggled and walked away. Sara did not look very amused, and Sirius noticed.

"What?" Sirius asked her.

"Nothing." she said and shook her head slightly muttering something about "boys" and went back to her work. Damn, maybe I shouldn't have sent Sean that letter, Nina thought to herself as she flipped through the pages of her book, looking for something. Where is that stupid outline? She looked across and saw it was under Sirius's book. Just as she reached across to take it, Sirius slid it towards him and started to look over it, seemingly concentrating really hard on something. When he was done, he slid it back towards Nina. She was about to reach for it again when he slid it back towards him quickly, read something, and then slid it back again. Nina stared at Sirius, tapping her quill impatiently. He looked at her with an "Oh, did you want this?" expression on his face, and passed the outline to her. They stayed in the library until Madam Pince kicked them out and then headed to the common room to work.

Sara fell asleep on the couch while reading over her notes; they could hear the distinct sound of her snores. Sirius was lying on his back with his head propped up on a cushion. He was holding a book over his head and reading near the fireplace. Nina got up from her seat and walked around him and sat down next to a pile of notes. She leafed through the notes but didn't find the one she was looking for. She looked over Sirius and saw it on the other side of him. She figured she could just reach over him and grab it. She crawled over slowly and just as she stuck her hand across him to pick up the parchment, Sirius, with his book still over his face, grabbed her hand. Startled, Nina looked at him, and he moved his book down from his face slowly. His eyebrows were slightly raised and Nina suddenly felt really awkward being right on top of him with his hand holding hers, but she couldn't move.

"What are you doing?" he asked her quietly.

"I…just wanted these notes." Nina answered him looking embarrassed.

"Why didn't you ask me for them?" he looked at her piercingly.

"I didn't want to disturb you." she replied feeling stupid.

"And you thought straddling over me would be less disturbing?" he said with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"I…I don't know…" Nina was feeling very flustered by then, and she could see that Sirius was trying very hard to keep a straight face.

"No." Sara's voice came out of nowhere; Nina and Sirius froze. "…no peanut butter, Remus." She was only talking in her sleep.

Sirius let go of Nina's hand and she quickly grabbed the notes and retreated back to her spot. Her face felt really hot now. I'm so stupid! What was I thinking? She started to read over the notes, fanning her face every now and then, when she started to feel really tired. She looked at her watch; it was close to two in the morning.

Nina decided to lie down and read for a few minutes. The paper in her hands started to get heavier. She was about to put the paper down when Sirius came next to her and took the paper from her hands and put it on the ground. He took her hand and brought it up to his lips and kissed it. He then put her arm above her head and held her down gently, and kissed her cheek. He looked her in the eyes and then kissed her on the lips. Nina could feel her heart racing.

He kissed her on the cheek again and whispered in her ear, "I don't care what you are, Nina. I still love you." Nina suddenly tensed up and pushed him back and gasped when she saw Sean's face instead of Sirius's.

"Shit!" she said getting up.

"What happened?" came Sirius's voice next to her. She turned her head and saw him lying on his side facing her with a book. She looked in front of her and just saw the side of the couch that Sara was lying on.

Nina ran her hands through her hair and let out a breath. "Nothing…just had a weird dream."

"Was I in it?" he asked curiously.

Nina shook her head and then asked him, "Are you actually getting any work done?"

Sirius sighed and answered, "Not really." He put down his book and stretched. "My head feels a little heavy."

"You still feeling the effects of a hangover?" Nina asked before she realized that she didn't want him to know that she knew he was drunk last night. Oh shit!

Sirius got up quickly and asked her, "What hangover?"

"Um…well, you went through the common room last night, you know. Everyone sort of knows you were…drinking." Nina said thinking fast.

"Oh." Sirius said quietly. "Wait a second…did I see you last night?"

"You mean after you called me a stupid cow and stormed away?" Nina asked wryly.

"Er…yeah after that." Sirius said with a little embarrassment.

Nina shrugged her shoulders and said, "I dunno. Maybe..."

He came closer to her and asked, "I did, didn't I? I had a feeling that maybe it was you. What did I say?"

"Oh." Nina said gravely. "Too much to repeat"

"No come on, seriously." He pressed her.

"I can't remember everything." Nina told him.

"Well do you remember something?" Sirius asked her anxiously.

"Yeah but it was just silly. You didn't know what you were saying. You didn't even really recognize me, actually." Nina said waving him off, and Sirius looked at her unconvincingly.

"Don't worry, Sirius." she told him. "You didn't confess your undying love for me."

"I didn't?" he asked looking a little relieved.

"Nope." Nina said with a smile.

"Okay good. I wouldn't want to be drunk when I do that. Takes away from the moment, doesn't it?" He grinned.

"Mmhmm." Nina opened up her books again.

"So... What would you have done if I did confess my undying love for you last night?" he asked casually.

"Well, I'd pretend I never heard it. And if you asked me about it, I'd lie and say you didn't say anything." Nina said with a grin.

"What?" he exclaimed looking bewildered.

"What the hell's going on here? Why aren't you guys working? I'm trying to sleep!" Sara had gotten up and was looking at them scornfully.

"Maybe you should go upstairs, cranky ass." Nina said to her.

"Can I?" Sara's voice suddenly became gentler.

"I guess." Nina shrugged. "Actually, why don't we just finish the rest tomorrow? I think we'll be okay."

"Great!" Sara said springing up from the couch. "Good night!" She started to head towards the stairs.

"Well, I don't really feel like going to bed." Sirius said. "So I'll stay down for a bit and work some more."

"Oh." Nina said quietly. "Okay I'll stay down too."

"No, go to sleep." Sirius told her.

"No, I can stay for a bit. I'm not that sleepy." Nina said and opened her books.

Sirius shrugged. "Fine."

They worked silently for about ten minutes before Nina felt her bum getting sore from sitting on the ground for so long. She got up and moved to the couch, and a few minutes later, Sirius got up and joined her.

"So…" he started to ask a little hesitantly, "is it true that you really haven't kissed what's-his-name yet?"

"Sean?" Nina asked him.

"Yeah, that guy." Sirius said dismissively.

"Why does everyone care?" Nina asked annoyed.

"I'm just curious, that's all." Sirius replied nonchalantly.

"Gees. What's the big deal? So what if I haven't kissed him yet?" Nina asked him.

"Well, it's just a bit queer of him. I mean, how could he be engaged to you, and not want to kiss you?" Nina looked at him a little strangely and he quickly added, "And vice versa."

"I'm not like you guys okay…going around snogging different people in bloody broom closets every day." she said grumpily.

"Hey! I don't do that every day." he said indignantly.

Nina raised her eyebrow at him.

"Okay well at least not this year, I haven't. In fact, I haven't even kissed anyone since…um…" Sirius looked puzzled. "Hmm…I can't even remember."

"Well, there's a record." Nina said sarcastically.

"It is." he said seriously. Man, I'm turning soft. I gotta get me some action! Wait…what about Nina? What about her? Man, she is engaged. Get that through your thick skull! She's got someone. You can go and get someone too! Wait… But, she hasn't even kissed him yet. So? So what if…

"I'm knackered. I think I'm gonna head to bed now." Nina said gathering her things. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, good night." Sirius said distractedly.


Nina woke up the next morning feeling groggy. She didn't sleep well; she kept having reoccurring dreams about Sirius and Sean both trying to kiss her. She trudged her way down to breakfast with Lily and Sara. Nina was halfway through eating her cereal, when the daily swoop of owls came through the hall. To Nina's apprehension, she saw Archimedes fly over her head and drop a thin envelope onto her lap. She looked at the messy scrawl written on the top and realized it was from Sean. She could feel her heart start to race suddenly and she felt a little shaky. Crap! He wrote back quickly. I can't open it here. I gotta go back up to the dorm! She took her stuff and told her friends she would meet up with them in class. She walked out of the Great Hall as fast as she could and then ran all the way back up to the dorms. She closed the door and sat on her bed. Her hands were trembling as she opened the envelope. The note was short and to the point. It read:

Nina,
I don't know what to say. I'm really shocked at the moment. I don't know if you're playing a cruel joke on me or if I'm just going crazy. I can't believe you didn't tell me about this before—or that your parents tried to hide this from me. Actually, I can't really believe anything right now. I don't want to. Whatever the case is, I'm just assuming that you don't want to be with me and that's why you told me this. If what you've told me is somehow true, then I guess that would really be the end for us. I don't know if my family or I would be able to handle your…problem. I'm sorry about the way things have turned out.
Sean.
P.S. Can you please send me back my ring? And don't use that blasted owl. It nearly gave me a heart attack last time.

Nina put down the letter, her hands still trembling a little. So. It's over. He couldn't handle the truth after all. He called it my problem. He probably thinks I'm some kind of freak! What if he tells everyone? My sister! What if I've ruined things for her? Oh, my parents are going to murder me good. They are not going to let me come home. I'll be homeless. I'll have to work on the streets for money! What the hell am I going to do? Stupid Sean! I hate him! He ruined everything! My parents wouldn't even have even bothered me if he didn't propose in the first place! I never even liked him that much! And what kind of a stupid dry letter did he write? He sounded almost bored. Just how many girls has he proposed to before? "I'm really shocked at the moment." My ass! He didn't even seem like he cared! He never really cared for me, did he? No wonder he never kissed me! Sirius was right—he is queer! Why the hell did he want to marry me then? Was it for the money? My parents are well off…but it's not like he was going to get any of it! That bastard! And how dare he insult Archimedes like that! I'll be damned if I send the ring back any other way. I hope he really does give him a heart attack this time! Nina violently took off her ring and shoved it into an envelope.

As soon as the initial shock wore off, Nina started to feel very depressed. She looked at her now bare hand and tears started brimming her eyes. The next thing she knew, she had flung herself onto her pillow and started balling. She cried until her eyes were dry and then stayed in her bed looking up at the ceiling for a while. Her brain felt numb. Then, another thought crossed her mind. Sirius. I need to talk to him. I have to tell him…no, wait. I can't tell him how I feel. But, I can tell him that it's over with Sean. I don't know what that's going to do…but at least I'll feel better…I think.

She looked at her watch; she missed her first class and the second one was starting in about twenty minutes. She forced herself up and into the washroom. She washed her face and put some make up on. Okay, she thought to herself while fixing her hair. I look alright. Doesn't seem like I was crying. She took a deep breath and walked out of her dorm and headed to class. She saw Sara and Lily standing outside the door. Nina could already feel her heart swell and the tears starting to come to her eyes. No! Don't cry here, stupid! Nina started blinking her eyes furiously.

Lily and Sara came up to her and Lily asked with concern, "Hey. Where were you? What's wrong? Is everything okay"

"Oh, yeah." Nina said trying to smile. "Just these bloody allergies. They are driving me nuts. My eyes keep watering up like crazy." She sniffed. Good one!

"Ooh, that stinks!" Sara said sympathetically. "Your eyes are really watering. You should take something for it."

"Oh, yeah I did." Nina lied. "It'll be okay soon." She couldn't concentrate on anything said during any of her classes that day. Her mind kept wondering off from thinking about how much she despised Sean and how her family was going to disown her, to how she was going to tell Sirius that her engagement was now off.

"Hey, where's your ring?" Sara asked Nina during dinner at the Great Hall.

"What?" Nina asked distractedly. "Oh, I must've forgotten it upstairs. Hey, where's Sirius?"

"Oh…" James said looking around the hall and then shrugged, "I dunno. He was with us a while ago." After they finished eating, they all headed back to the common room. Nina was dying to talk to Sirius and she felt anxious all over. She kept looking out for him, hoping he'd pop into the room. She waited around not paying much attention to anyone else around her for about an hour before she decided she was going to go out and walk around the castle—and maybe bump into Sirius.

She walked through the library, the Great Hall, and was making her way down another hall when she heard voices coming from up ahead. She stopped and listened. She didn't hear anything so she kept walking, past a large panel divider—and then she let out a gasp. There was Sirius, up against the panel, with Dana Abbott, all over him.


A/N: Stupid, stupid Siriuis. Hahaha! That chapter was too much fun to write. Hope you guys liked it! Tell me what you think! Thank you so much for all the reviews!