Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all things Harry Potter. Joss Whedon owns all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer. INXS owns the song Never Tear Us Apart. I don't own any of these things.

A/N: Due to new TTH restrictions, major notes regarding this fic will now be housed at my journal- Most notes will be making their way there over the next week, at my greatest journal, the address for which I will add to my profile page since this stupid thing doesn't seem to want to recognise it any way I try to get it in there! Thanks reviewers XX ---Anoron

CHAPTER TEN
Never Tear Us Apart

"So... this is Hogsmeade, huh?" Dawn stared around her. She and her friends were standing in the middle of the main street of the village on the cool Saturday morning while the crowd of students thinned and dispersed around them.

"Yeah, this is about it," James shrugged. "Now c'mon, we've got to get to Zonko's before it gets too crowded and all the good stuff gests sold out!"

Dawn was dragged into a store so quickly she barely had time to read the sign hanging above the door: 'Zonko's Joke Shop'. Then, just as quickly, she found she had been deserted by all her friends. James and Sirius had charged straight for the 'Latest Arrivals' stand, Peter was skimming the backs of various prank foods packets and Remus was gazing at a selection of enchanted parchments, Dawn could practically see the wheels of his mind ticking over as new ideas were formed. She sighed and began browsing the displays alone. She found an assortment of powders: itching powder, sneezing powder, blistering powder, hiccoughing powder, uncontrollable bowel movement powder-

"That one's not so nice," commented a passing Hufflepuff.

Dawn hastily put the package down and moved on. She skipped the series of noise-makers completely and found herself looking at a display of simple tea-cups. Peter wandered over to her.

"What do they do?" he asked.

"I don't know," Dawn replied, reaching out and running a finger around the rim of the topmost tea-cup. "But I was just thinking maybe Newman would like some company- OUCH!" She yanked her hand back against her chest, cradling her finger.

"Damn tea-cup bit me!"

Peter blinked. "It bit you? But it's a tea-cup," he looked at the offending china. It was sitting in its place looking completely innocent.

Dawn showed him the little bite marks in her finger. They turned back to the tea-cups, examining them, trying to figure out exactly what had set the biting one off. Peter leaned close over one to peer into it and the tea-cup sprang to life, latching onto his nose.

Peter jerked upright with a yelp of pain and alarm, though nobody in the crowded store seemed to notice. Dawn reached over and, with some effort accompanied by much squeaking from Peter, she managed to wrench the tea-cup's jaws from his nose. Remus materialised by them then, as Dawn was carefully returning the tea-cup to its place.

"What are you two doing?"

Dawn eyed the tea-cups warily. "Just trying to figure out why these things are so feral. They keep biting us," she told Remus.

Remus looked between Peter, Dawn and the tea-cups and shook his head. His amber eyes were alight with amusement.

"What?" Peter asked.

The werewolf picked up a box just behind the display and showed the label to his two friends. 'Nose-biting tea-cup.' Dawn looked at Peter. Peter looked at the box. Then the pair just sighed and headed off to find Sirius and James, while a snickering Remus snatched up a couple of the boxes and headed for the register.

The five emerged from Zonko's, Remus, James and Sirius each carrying a few purchases in paper bags. They wandered further down the street, weaving in an out of the pedestrian traffic, visiting every store at least once so Dawn could see all that Hogsmeade had to offer. The group worked their way out of the main street, wandering down to a rickety barbed-wire fence. Beyond it was a dilapidated, ominous-looking house.

"Let me guess- the Shrieking Shack?" Dawn grinned.

"Or as we sometimes like to call it, the Marauders' Mansion," Remus announced proudly. "C'mon, we know a way in, we'll show you around."

"Hold on," Sirius blurted, staring intently at the Shack. There, against the dirty white paint, he caught a mass of grey fur slinking along the wall. He grinned evilly. "I'll be right back."

He disappeared behind a large boulder, and a moment later Padfoot emerged. The big, black dog slithered under the barbed-wire fence and crept silently towards the house. James was the first to figure out what the Animagus was up to.

"I hope that cat down there can run fast," he snickered.

The others peered down to the Shack, where the unsuspecting cat was now perched on a low wall by the house. Remus' eyes widened.

"Oh Merlin- it's McGonagall!"

Dawn clapped a hand over her mouth as Padfoot, now in range, gave only a single, booming bark of warning before he pounced. The cat screeched out a 'meow' and rocketed away, the enormous dog thundering after it. McGonagall ran across the yard of the Shrieking Shack and Padfoot gave chase, snapping at the tabby's heels. James was laughing so hard he thought he was about to wet himself, he had tears of mirth streaming from his eyes and he was clutching at his aching sides. Remus had given in and was chuckling away while Peter let out a series of terrified, squeaking giggles. Dawn simply sat down on the spot, right there in the dirt.

McGonagall shot under the fence, but Padfoot followed. He chased her until she had no choice but to shoot up the nearest tree and take refuge among the branches. Padfoot sat at the base of her tree and growled for a full five minutes before he became bored of his sport and trotted away.

The second his back was turned the tabby cat leapt to the ground and streaked away. The four spectators burst into wild applause as Padfoot came lolloping up to them. He slurped happily at Dawn's face, earning him a scratch behind the ears before he morphed back into Sirius. He smirked down at her.

"What're you doing down there, Kitten?"

Dawn just shook her head as she was hauled to her feet and began brushing the dirt off her backside. Remus cocked his head to the side, studying Sirius.

"Did you actually know that was McGonagall?" he had to ask.

Sirius let out a little snicker. "Not at first. But once I'd pounced, I had to go through with it, didn't I? Would've looked suspicious, otherwise," he grinned.

James thumped him heartily on the back. "That was just classic, Padfoot," he praised.

"I know."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get going before Padfoot's head gets as big as Prongs'."

"I do not have a big head!" James burst out indignantly as the group began easing themselves under the barbed-wire.

"That's not what Lily tells me," Dawn sang, flashing her most adorable, innocent smile at James, who stuck his tongue out at her.

Then he stopped dead in his tracks, his face lighting up in sudden delight with a new occurrence. "You mean Evans talks about me? What does she say? Tell me everything!" he latched onto Dawn's arms, shaking her a little in his excitement.

"Right," said Dawn, her teeth rattling a little in her head as James shook her. "Maybe later James, you know, when we're braiding hair and painting each other's toenails."

James hastily let go of Dawn. The other boys snorted with barely suppressed laughter as the group reached the Shrieking Shack. While Remus kept a lookout for anyone who might be watching, Peter transformed into the chubby little rat and disappeared through a crack in the wall. They only had to wait a few moments for a panel to pop out of the wall. Sirius pulled it out completely and stepped back to make way.

"Ladies first," the boys all ushered Dawn to the opening. She hesitated, trying to figure out exactly which way would be the easiest for her to get through.

"It's easiest if you crawl through head first," Sirius called out helpfully. James and Remus shot him exasperated looks, but Sirius didn't seem to notice. A wicked grin was plastered to his face, his head was tilted at an angle to gain the best possible view as Dawn crouched down, then leaned forwards to begin the crawl through the small opening. As her backside disappeared from view, James slapped Sirius upside his head.

"Ouch! What the hell, Prongs?" Sirius protested.

James shrugged. "Sorry Padfoot," he said, not sounding it in the least. "Just seemed the appropriate brotherly thing to do."

He turned and followed Remus through the opening, leaving Sirius alone to struggle with the removed panel. By the time he'd managed to get it back in place, Peter, James and Remus had already shown Dawn through the lower levels of the Shack. He caught up with them at the foot of the rickety wooden stairs. Though the stairs shook with the weight of five stampeding teens, Dawn dared not grab the banister for fear of being attacked by the killer dust bunnies gathering there.

They reached the dark landing of the second floor and took out their wands, muttering lumos to give some light to see by. The boys led Dawn through the dusty, rough building that had been a monthly haven for Remus since the first time he set foot on Hogwarts grounds.

"So, what do you think?" Remus asked as they finally made their way back to the exit panel.

"Werewolf homey," Dawn grinned. "A few throw-pillows and what's not to love?"

Peter transformed into Wormtail once more and slipped through the crack to the outside. The others waited a few minutes, then they heard two sharp taps against the boards covering the outside of the Shack.

"That's our cue," James murmured, giving the panel a hard shove. They heard the grunts of exertion coming from outside as Peter tried unsuccessfully to remove the panel completely from the wall. The four still inside the Shrieking Shack exchanged amused glances.

After what felt like ages of listening to Peter puffing and grunting, James decided he was too bored and hungry to wait any longer. Without even a word of warning, James Potter had disappeared and a hazel-eyed stag stood in his place. Dawn, Remus and Sirius cleared out of his path instantly. Prongs backed up a few paces, lowered his head and charged forwards to ram his antlers into the panel.

The entire thing flew out of the wall, they all heard a thud and a squeak of pain coming from outside. Becoming a cheekily grinning boy once more, James peered out of the opening with the others, to where Peter lay sprawled in the dirt several paces from the wall, trapped beneath the panel.

Once again, the boys (namely Sirius) insisted Dawn crawl through the opening ahead of them. She emerged into the daylight, ran straight to Peter and lifted the panel off him easily. She passed it to Sirius, not noticing the satisfied grin on his face as he followed her out, and extended her hand to help Peter up.

"Peter, are you alright?" she asked softly.

He nodded, rubbing at his now-tender ribcage. The panel was slotted back in place and they soon left the Shrieking Shack behind, settling on the Three Broomsticks and a butterbeer as their destination. They stepped into the noisy, bustling pub that reminded Dawn of a slightly more trendy version of the Leaky Cauldron. The four boys charged straight for a booth in the back, Dawn scurrying to stay in their wake as they claimed what they assured Dawn was 'the usual Marauder spot'. A young witch, maybe eighteen if she was lucky, sauntered over in sparkling high heels, flipping her honey blond hair over her shoulders.

She grinned saucily at them. "What'll it be, boys?"

Dawn mentally raised her eyebrows. Has she suddenly stepped under James' Invisibility Cloak without realising it?

"We'll all have fire-whiskey, Rosmerta," James tried, blinking innocently up at her.

Rosmerta threw back her head and laughed, the light, tinkling sounds melding into the din of the pub. "That one gets funnier every time you try it, hon. Now, really, what would you like?"

"I think he was being serious," Remus observed with a smirk.

"Someone say my name?" Sirius quipped, and everyone within earshot groaned. "No-one appreciates my sense of humour," he pouted. Dawn patted his arm while Rosmerta gave him a sympathetic smile.

"You don't have a sense of humour, Padfoot," James told him, deepening Sirius' pout. Rosmerta laughed and winked at Sirius.

Dawn felt a stab of white-hot jealousy rip through her insides, she scowled harshly at the flirtatious waitress who had yet to even acknowledge her existence. "I'll have a butterbeer, please," she said loudly, arching an eyebrow and staring insolently at the older girl.

"Same," muttered all the boys, all a bit disturbed by the rapid drop in the temperature in their booth.

Rosmerta smiled uncomfortably through the sudden tension. "Five butterbeers coming right up," she turned and fled back to the safety of the bar.

Dawn sat and stared at her hands, contemplating the downward turn the last thirty seconds had taken. What was wrong with her? She'd behaved terribly, like a possessive girlfriend who couldn't stand the thought of having another girl flirt harmlessly with her boyfriend. She flushed darkly and with some effort forced herself to focus on reality and not her stupid, probably pointless schoolgirl crush. However much her skin tingled when he wrapped his arms around her, however easily she lost herself in his eyes, Sirius was not her boyfriend and she had no right to act as if he belonged to her. Even if in her heart she already belonged to him.

Rosmerta reappeared and plonked their drinks on the table, Dawn attempted a polite smile but the waitress didn't even look at her. She left the bill and walked away without a word.

The boys soon picked up the thread of conversation again, James chattering excitedly about the first Quidditch match of the season coming up within the next month. Dawn sat silently and nursed her butterbeer as she listened. She knew a little about Quidditch from what the boys had explained to her, they were all passionate about the sport, but to her it all sounded a little violent. Personally, Dawn thought she'd seen quite enough violence for one lifetime.

"We'll be ready for Slytherin," James was saying. "There's no way I'm going to lose to those dirty snakes!"

A few Gryffindors who'd overheard the declaration gave a roar of approval in response, prompting James to stand up and take a bow. "Thank you, Gryffindors! I'm James Potter and I'll be your captain this year. Please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride all the way to the Quidditch Cup!" he quipped and took another bow. Screams and whistles echoed throughout the Three Broomsticks and Dawn mustered a small smile as James, satisfied with the uproar he'd created, plopped back into his seat.

Dawn took another long drink of butterbeer to avoid the excited babble the boys had settled back into. She sputtered and nearly dropped her bottle when a warm hand squeezed her leg, a few inches above her knee.

"You alright, Kitten?" Sirius whispered in her ear.

Hand on the leg. Hand on the leg. Hand on the leg! Somehow, Dawn found herself nodding despite the distraction of Sirius' hand, which felt as if it would burn a hold right through her pants to her skin.

"Fine," she assured him, her voice far too breathy for her own ears. She turned her attention back to her drink, all the while keenly aware that Sirius had yet to remove his hand. She caught sight of a familiar flash of red hair, accompanied by a set of shorter blond locks and waved at Lily and Isabel as they headed towards the door.

"Dawn, you coming?" Lily called across the din of the pub while Isabel waved her over.

Dawn nodded and began gathering the things she'd bought in the village (that James had insisted on paying for). "I'll see you guys tonight," she said as she slid out of the booth. The boys were all frowning at her, Sirius in particular as he was forced to remove his hand from her leg when she moved.

"Where are you running off to, Kitten?" James asked.

"Promised the girls in my dorm we could do the girly bonding thing, getting ready for tonight," she shrugged. "We're going to come together as a group, so I'll catch up with you guys when we get here, ok? Bye."

She skipped off with Lily and Isabel, hurrying to catch up with Michelle and Candice, who'd started back to Hogwarts ahead of them. The boys watched them going off to do their 'girly bonding thing', as Dawn called it.

James had a dreamy look on his face. "Did anyone else just go to a very pleasant visual place?"

Sirius immediately raised his hand. After a moment of careful consideration, Remus, his eyebrows raised, gave a nod. Peter cocked his head to the side and thought about it.

"Huh?"


Five girls, all showered and wrapped snugly in their bathrobes, were running around the fifth year girls' dorms in Gryffindor tower trying to get ready for their very first Hogsmeade night. Dawn had already picked out her best pair of jeans, her dark denim hip-huggers, and had thrown every shirt she currently owned on her bed. She was sifting through the jumble for just the right one.

"No. No. No. No..." before she knew it, the bed was cleared and a mountain of shirts were piled next to her on the floor. If only she had Buffy's wardrobe still at her disposal, she sighed. "I have nothing to wear," Dawn announced for the first time in her life.

Isabel wandered over, tossing a piece of chocolate Dawn's way. "I'm sure there's something in here that's got to be perfect," she said bracingly, reaching for the shirt at the peak of Dawn's clothes mountain. "No. No. No. No..."

Right before the girls' eyes, the shirts were all transferred from the floor back to Dawn's bed. "You were right. You really don't have anything to wear," Isabel sighed. She went to her own cupboard and rifled through her clothes. A minute later, she emerged and handed Dawn a pale green top.

"Try that."

Some time later, all five were dressed and tackling the task of hair and make-up. "So, Dawn," Candice began, twisting her hair up and pinning it to the back of her head. "How/d you manage to land the elusive Sirius Black, anyway?"

Dawn choked on the breath she'd been drawing, her hairbrush clattered to the vanity unit. "Land Sirius?" she coughed, her face turning bright red and not just from the lack of oxygen. "I'm- he- we- we're n-not together," she stuttered.

"Not yet," Lily smirked, sharing a knowing glance with a grinning Isabel. Dawn glowered at them.

"Traitors," she muttered, before relenting.

The girls all laughed and continued getting ready for the night. With the assortment of junk food they'd bought in the village that day, they could afford to skip dinner in the Great Hall completely. When at last they made the trip back into Hogsmeade and stepped out of the clear, chilly evening into the slightly darkened atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks, there were only a few students who'd already arrived. The pub (currently club) was dotted with posters advertising there would be a DJ playing muggle music for the night's entertainment.

The five shed their cloaks and hung them by the door before moving further into the room. With a smile and a wave, Candice and Michelle headed off to the bar for a drink. Lily and Isabel each grabbed one of Dawn's hands and led her to the virtually deserted dance floor.

"Oh great, dancing again," Dawn grimaced.

"Oh come on," Isabel cajoled, prodding her in the side to hurry her up.

Dawn grinned and started moving to the beat. She found she wasn't as nervous as she'd been that time in London with the boys, and guessed it had something to do with being more adapted to the world around her now. And it also probably had a lot to do with the fact that she found neither Lily or Isabel particularly attractive. The crowds soon began to pour into the Three Broomsticks, but Dawn, Isabel and Lily paid them no mind, too caught up in their own fun as the dance floor filled around them. A particular group of boys were standing at the edge of the floor, staring at the three girls as they danced with abandon.

Lily threw her head to the side and caught a glimpse of James, standing by with Remus, Peter and Sirius and rolled her eyes at the expression on his face. "We've got an audience," she mouthed at her friends, jerking her head back in the Marauders' direction.

Dawn's eyes landed on her best friends and naturally sought out Sirius. She nearly tripped over her own two feet at the hunger lurking in his blue eyes as they met hers. He arched an eyebrow and she felt her lips tug upwards into a smile. A minute later she spun about, turning her back on him and focusing solely on Lily, Isabel and the music washing over them.

"Bloody hell," Sirius let out a low whistle. "For someone who swore she couldn't dance..."

"Huh?" James grunted, not taking his eyes off Lily.

Peter's mouth had dropped open, his small eyes had bulged almost out of their sockets. He felt the heat creeping up over his cheeks and all of a sudden his pants were uncomfortably tight.

"Um... I'm going to get a drink," he blurted, scurrying off to the bar.

James, Sirius and Remus barely registered his departure as they continued to follow their three house-mates on the dance floor with their gazes. A slightly slower song came on and the boys spied their opportunity to move, weaving their way through the crowd to their target.

Sirius swung Dawn easily into his arms, neither of them spoke but Dawn smiled at him again and wrapped her arms almost shyly around his neck.

Remus smiled nervously at Isabel, holding out his hand to her. "Dance with me?" he asked. Isabel, blushing, nodded and placed her hand in his.

James grinned at Lily.

"No way!"

James, though a hint of disappointment flickered through his hazel depths, held his smile and tugged Lily a bit closer to him. Lily cocked back her fist, ready to slug James for daring to even try, but he quickly caught her hand.

"Just one dance, Evans. Promise I'll behave myself."

Lily huffed and glared and scowled. But she did not leave. She allowed James, who maintained a respectable distance between his body and hers the entire time, to lead her through one dance. She pulled away before the last note of the song had completely faded. She stared at James, who had been silent and perfectly behaved for an entire song, unnerved by the content smile that seemed now permanently fixed to his face.

"Thanks for the dance, Evans," he said in that deep voice laced with forced maturity that he always found for her. It was that voice that seemed to shock Lily back into her old fiery self.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it," she snapped. "Because it's the first and last you'll ever have with me!" She turned and began elbowing her way violently through the mass of bodies.

"Will you go out with me?" rang out across the crowded room in her wake.

She didn't even pause to answer, but James was grinning broadly as he turned to his friends. Sirius cocked ay eyebrow at him over Dawn's shoulder. "What are you grinning at Prongs? It's not like she actually said yes or anything."

"I know," James shrugged, still grinning. "But for one thing I actually touched her without getting a black eye for my troubles, and for another thing, she never said no, either!"

Dawn giggled into Sirius' chest. James was a hopeless case. For the rest of the night, completely ignorant of the many curious glances aimed their way, Sirius refused to let Dawn out of his arms for even one dance. He smirked as Remus and Isabel left quite early together, but said nothing to draw attention to their absence. The evening wore away, until finally the DJ announced there was time enough for just one last song. Deeper, more sensual music washed over them and Sirius instinctively drew Dawn closer to him and tightened his hold on her slender frame. He smirked.

Dawn's head tilted to the side, spilling waves of long brown hair over her shoulder. "What?"

The smirk deepened. "Sing for me," he whispered, echoing her words of weeks long past.

"Here?" Dawn blushed, looking apprehensively around at the scores of people surrounding them.

"Here," Sirius affirmed as the lights dimmed until only the magical mirror-ball remained to give off broken fragments of light. "There's nobody listening but me," he promised, and Dawn felt all self-consciousness evaporate from her in the darkness.

Don't ask me

What you know is true

Don't have to tell you

I love your precious heart

I

I was standing

You were there

Two worlds collided

And they could never tear us apart

We could live

For a thousand years

But if I hurt you

I'd make wine from your tears

I told you

That we could fly 'cause we all have wings

But some of us don't know why

I

I was standing

You were there

Two worlds collided

And they could never, ever tear us apart

I

I was standing

You were there

Two worlds collided

And they could never tear us apart

You

You were standing

I was there

Two worlds collided

And they could never tear us apart

She had the sweetest voice he'd ever heard. Sirius couldn't remember when exactly his eyes had closed, he just knew it wasn't important to see. All he needed was to hear her, to feel her. The soft, but certain sincerity in Dawn's voice as she sang to him and him alone had Sirius convinced she reciprocated his feelings. She was just too pure and true to fake that kind of emotion.

He pulled back a fraction so they were no longer cheek to cheek, but their noses were resting side by side. All he needed to do to finally have his first taste of those delicate pink lips was to tilt her head up a mere centimetre...

Harsh light exploded all around them, and suddenly Sirius and Dawn were no longer the only two people in the world. They jerked hastily apart and blinked, looking almost disoriented as people jostled around them to clear the Three Broomsticks, and their moment died along with the music. James winced sympathetically at Sirius' 'why do the fates insist on toying with me' expression before he and Peter were swallowed in the crowd.

Dawn slid her hand into Sirius' so they wouldn't be separated as they made their way to collect their cloaks for the walk back to Hogwarts. Once in the street, Sirius led Dawn the opposite way to the crowd, heading straight for Honeydukes.

"Sirius, where-?"

"Shh, Kitten. We know a short-cut to get back to the castle quicker," Sirius led her around the side of the sweet shop and lifted the window.

They climbed into the darkened store and Sirius slid the window closed once more. He paused briefly to snatch up a couple of chocolate bars. Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say a word he'd deposited a handful of coins on the counter to pay for the stock. They crept down the stairs and into the cellar, where Sirius lifted a panel out of the floor. Dawn looked down, but it was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing, it was as if she was staring into a bottomless pit.

"Here, lumos," Sirius pulled his wand out, lighting up an endless flight of stone stairs. Dawn stepped cautiously down, lighting up her own wand. The flight of stairs was long and uneven, but finally they made it to the bottom, where a tunnel stretched out before them.

"Neat, huh?" Sirius grinned and handed her one of the chocolate bars he'd grabbed. "We found it not long ago, actually, when we were trying to hide from Filch."

Choosing not to wonder why they'd needed to hide from Filch in the first place, Dawn just grinned back and unwrapped her chocolate. Sirius had been right, Dawn realised when they emerged from behind the statue of the one-eyes witch back at the castle. They had arrived much faster than the students who'd travelled by the road.

They headed for the Gryffindor Common Room, Dawn gave the password and they clambered through the portrait hole. They looked up just in time to see a figure disappearing up the girls' stairs, while another turned to glare at the intruding new arrivals. Sirius and Dawn shared a look and tried not to laugh at Remus' slightly dishevelled hair and the smear of lipstick over his face.

"We're not interrupting, are we Moony?" Sirius smirked.

Remus arched an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?" he shot back in a would-be casual voice.

Dawn gave him a pointed look and lightly touched the corner of her mouth. Taking the hint, Remus lifted his own hand and wiped his mouth with the back of it. He blushed when he noticed the red streaks that had appeared on his skin, exactly the same shade as the lipstick Isabel had been wearing. Sirius started to snigger.

"Like you're one to talk, Padfoot," Remus muttered dangerously before turning and stomping off up the boys' staircase.

"Night Remus," Dawn called after him before dissolving into a little fit of giggles. The sounds died away, but the smile held on her face when Sirius regained her full attention by running his fingers through the length of her hair.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?" he murmured, unconsciously licking his lips.

Dawn's eyes widened. Huh!? "N-no," she mouthed, suddenly not quite able to produce actual words as Sirius pulled her up against him.

"Well, you look gorgeous," he whispered, leaning in as Dawn's face stretched up towards his.

BANG!

The portrait slammed open so violently that the fat lady collided with the wall and began yelling indignantly. Sirius swore under his breath as Lily's voice screeched over that of the mistreated portrait.

"Potter, you prat! And you, Pettigrew! Just how immature can you get!?" Lily marched the two Marauders in question into the Common Room.

James blinked innocently. "But Evans, we didn't do anything. Really."

"Oh?" Lily snapped, eyebrow arched to an epic proportion. "I suppose Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape threw themselves into the lake, then?"

Sirius was a heartbeat away from laughter, but one look at the little brunette next to him had the boy choking it back. There was a distinctly not amused expression on Dawn's face as she watched the scene unfolding before her.

"They slipped," James replied, his face so boyishly sincere that anyone who didn't know better would believe him in an instant. Unfortunately for James, Lily did know better.

"Potter you arrogant toe-rag, they didn't slip. If they'd merely slipped, they wouldn't have landed five feet away!"

Peter grimaced, caught out in the lie. Just as he was consoling himself with the knowledge that it was worth it, seeing the splashes two of their most hated Slytherin rivals had made as they'd hurtled into the icy depths of the lake, the saving grace of James Potter's brilliance dazzled him one more time.

"It's sad really, Evans," James sighed. "We saw them slip, and Peter and I tried to help them, we really did. But you know what those Slytherins are like, once they realised it was a couple of Gryffindors who'd rescued them, they pulled away so hard they went flying into the lake anyway. So in a way I guess you were right the first time, Evans, Sniv- Snape and Malfoy really did throw themselves into the lake!" he concluded, a hint of a proud smirk twitching at one corner of his mouth.

Sirius and Peter were outright grinning. Dawn rolled her eyes. James Potter strikes again. Lily blinked a few times to give herself a moment to digest the story she'd just been fed.

"Did you really expect me to believe that Potter?" she finally asked. "That was the biggest load of tripe I've heard since the last time you tried to weasel yourself out of trouble."

"Maybe we could discuss it over a cup of coffee," James suggested quickly.

"Or I could just go straight to McGonagall and report you," Lily countered.

"You don't drink coffee?"

"Not with you," Lily strode purposefully for the girls' stairs. "You coming up to bed, Dawn? It's late," she said pointedly, and Dawn nodded in response.

"Night guys," she said, smiling through her disappointment, her gaze lingering on Sirius for a long moment before she followed Lily. Naïve and oblivious as she was, Dawn knew that twice in one night, Sirius had been on the verge of kissing her. And twice in one night, they'd been rudely interrupted. It was like the fates were teasing them or something.

Sirius scowled darkly as he was left with James and Peter. He looked over at his friends, who could sense the frustration coursing through him. "You know, I think I may have to actually start paying some attention in Divination. Because I think the fates right now are seriously messing with me."


Dawn sat re-reading the same paragraph of her potions textbook over and over. Try as she might, she just couldn't seem to concentrate. It didn't help that Remus and Isabel were sitting on the couch next to her chair, their heads bent close together and their hands clasped as they studied from the same book and Dawn couldn't help but glance jealously at them every other minute. Happy as she was that two of her friends were together, a selfish part of her couldn't help but wish their happiness was hers with the way her thoughts kept drifting from the book in front of her to a certain raven-haired, blue-eyed Gryffindor who was on her mind more often than not lately.

Dawn sighed, thinking of Sirius and the way her heart would flutter when he looked at her with those sky-like eyes, when he flashed that devilish grin at her. All chance of concentration was now long gone. Dawn slammed her textbook shut and set it aside for a day when her brain was capable of functioning on a level beyond a basic fifteen year-old's boy obsession. All of a sudden, a familiar scent filled her awareness, making her spine tingle as a low voice murmured in her ear.

"Come for a walk, Kitten."

It was more a gentle command than a request, Dawn let Sirius take her hand, flushing slightly at the contact, and lead her out the portrait hole. Once they were in the corridor, Sirius unearthed James' Invisibility Cloak and flung it over the both of them. Dawn squirmed, the Cloak was suppressing the scent of Sirius around her until it became almost as intoxicating as his nearness.

"Let's go."

He led her up a tower with many flights of stairs, and just as Dawn thought she'd be climbing stairs forever, they emerged into the cool night air. They were on the roof of the castle. Sirius whipped the Cloak off with a flourish and Dawn stepped further outside, feeling the hard stones firm beneath her feet.

"Oh my God," she breathed. The view was nothing short of spectacular. The night was quite chilly, but only a wisp of cloud streaked the velvet sky, alive with stars far brighter than any Dawn had ever seen in Sunnydale. Beneath them, the Hogwarts grounds were husky dull in the dark, but seemed husky and inviting... Dawn had a sudden image of herself taking her shoes off and running barefoot through the grass in the dark.

"I thought you might like to see the view from the Astronomy tower, since you don't take the class. Do you like it?" Sirius asked, already reading the answer in her delighted face.

"It's beautiful," Dawn whispered, looking at the stars.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, looking at her.

Dawn turned to look at him fully, smiling her gratitude for his gesture before walking to the edge of the nearest turret to further admire the view. She shivered a little in the breeze. Spying his opportunity, Sirius walked over to stand behind Dawn and wrapped his arms around her wispy frame. Dawn's blood simmered, her breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded in her chest. With Sirius wrapping his arms around her for no apparent reason, she could only hope she neither fell down or peed her pants. Sirius began rubbing her arms to warm them up. Realising he was just trying to keep her from becoming a human ice-block, Dawn deflated a little, but could not be too disappointed, given the strong hands now resting on her shoulders.

"I really like you, Dawn," Sirius admitted suddenly.

Dawn froze. This wasn't real- wasn't happening. Not to her, little Dawn Summers, always the meek little tagalong. Almost without her realising, Sirius tightened his grip on Dawn's shoulders and turned her around until she was facing him. She looked up at him, eyes wide as saucers and glinting in the starlight. His hand moved to her chin, tilting her head back, his mouth dipped lower towards hers.

Dawn's eyes fluttered closed of their own accord as a feather-light kiss brushed against her lips. When she did not protest, Sirius increased the pressure the tiniest bit and felt Dawn start to respond, albeit timidly. It was several seconds before Sirius pulled back for air, grinning at Dawn. She blinked up at him as if she couldn't quite wrap her mind around what had just happened.

"Shiver me timbers," she mumbled, wondering how exactly she'd come up with the ridiculous phrase even as she spoke it.

"What?" Sirius laughed.

"Oh... uh... nothing," Dawn stammered.

"That was your first kiss, wasn't it?" Sirius realised, his grin widening. He couldn't help but feel proud to be the first boy ever to taste the pure sweetness that was Dawn Summers.

"No! No, of course n-not, I mean as if, and... well, yeah," she admitted shyly, her cheeks flaming as she misread the note of mirth in Sirius' voice. "So please just get it over with, laugh and tell me exactly how horrible it was, and then you'll never, ever have to do it again-"

Sirius silenced her with a more forceful kiss than before. "Be my girl?" he whispered against her lips.

"I am."

Dawn barely had time to accept before Sirius' lips closed in on hers again. He kissed her briefly before pulling back just an inch to talk to her.

"By the way."

He kissed her.

"I'm not laughing."

He kissed her again.

"And it most certainly was not horrible."

He kissed her once more.

"And kissing you is definitely something I want to do again."

Another kiss.

"And again."

He kissed her one more time. Dawn smiled up at him.

"And again," she whispered, stretching up to press her lips to his. He reached for her waist to pull her closer and Dawn, a little uncertain but following her instincts, let her arms creep up around his neck. The ends of his longish hair tickled her hands, but Dawn barely noticed. Every cell in her body was humming with the rhythm of Sirius' kiss.

Loud, booming barks shattered the stillness of the night. Dawn and Sirius leapt apart. "What was that?"

"Wasn't me," Sirius pointed out. Dawn smiled at his apparent joke as they turned to peek out across the grounds. Hagrid was heading back towards his cabin, coming out of the Forbidden Forest, his crossbow slung over his shoulder and Fang bounding along by his side.

"It must be late," Dawn remarked.

Sirius sighed, reluctant to end the encounter. "Yeah. I s'pose we should be heading back down."

He took Dawn's hand in his and, the Invisibility Cloak thrown over them once more, led the way back to Gryffindor tower. He stuck his head out from under the Cloak long enough to give the fat lady the password, and the pair climbed back into the Common Room. Since it was deserted aside from their friends, Sirius yanked the Cloak off one-handed, tossing it to James. The other hand was still firmly enclosed around Dawn's.

"Thanks mate," Sirius called as James stuffed his Cloak in his bag.

"So how'd it go?" James smirked, eyeing the clasped hands of the couple.

Dawn blushed, but grinned happily anyway. She was too happy to know for sure that Sirius returned her feelings to be too embarrassed that James knew exactly what they'd been up to. Sirius, on the other hand, dropped Dawn's hand in order to launch into an extremely loud war chant and dance sort of combination.

"SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES!"

James laughed at his best friend's performance for a moment before jumping up and joining in.

"SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES!"

Dawn groaned and sat down on one of the couches, her head resting in her hands. If she had known he and James were going to broadcast the news for the entire castle to hear... she would've agreed to go out with Sirius anyway. He just wished he wasn't so loud about it (flattered as she was), they were going to wake up the entire tower at this rate.

"SHE SAD YES! SHE SAID YES!"

"Guys!" Remus called finally. "Keep it down, would you?"

"Sorry Moony," Sirius grinned, plopping down next to Dawn and slinging an arm about her waist. "Got a little carried away there."

"Don't you always?" Remus smiled.

"What's going on?" Peter asked. He'd been watching the entire scene, but still for the life of him could not quite figure out what was going on.

James sighed impatiently. "Well Wormtail, it would seem that Padfoot here finally got up the nerve to ask our dear little Kitten out, and-"

"SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID-"

"Padfoot! We know!" Remus hollered over Sirius.
The news spread around school like wildfire. Before she even got out of the Common Room the next morning, Dawn passed five separate groups of students whispering excitedly at catching a glimpse of Sirius Black's latest girlfriend. If James and Sirius hadn't been so vocal about the news last night, she'd wonder how they'd even found out about it.

She stepped into the Great Hall, where the storm of whispers whipped into a frenzied state. Dawn felt countless stares boring into her and contemplated hiding in the Marauders' dorm until people found something else to talk about. But then it occurred to her if anyone knew exactly how fond she was hanging out there it would probably just add even more fuel to the gossip fires.

Out of nowhere, she was wrapped up in a hug from behind, Dawn had to bite back a gasp at the soft kiss that was pressed to her neck. "Morning Kitten," Sirius murmured against her skin.

"Morning," Dawn returned, blushing as Sirius came around to stand in front of her. He leaned in to kiss her, but Dawn allowed it to last only a moment before she pulled away and stared at the ground.

"Dawn? What's the matter?" Sirius asked, concern shining in his eyes as he lifted her chin until she was looking back at him.

Dawn bit her lip. "Everyone's staring, and everyone's talking about us."

Sirius smirked. He'd forgotten she wasn't as comfortable as he was with being the centre of attention. "Let them stare. Let them talk. Just don't pay any attention to them, ok? You only have to worry about you and me, forget everyone else."

With that, he wrapped his arm about Dawn's shoulders and marched her proudly to where their friends had gathered at the Gryffindor table. Dawn smiled weakly at her friends in greeting as she and Sirius sat down and began loading their plates up for breakfast. Dawn put a couple of pieces of toast on her plate.

"Keep going," Remus ordered.

Dawn added a small serving of scrambled eggs to her plate. James reached over and deposited a load of bacon over the lot of it. Dawn arched an eyebrow at James, who nodded in satisfaction. She rolled her eyes, muttering something about strange British boys trying to fatten her up. She was only half way through the small mountain of food before her when Dumbledore rose to give one of his rare speeches.

"Good morning, good morning," he called happily. "If I could just have your attention for a few moments, I have some rather exciting news to share with you all before class."

Dawn shared curious glances with the four boys, Lily and Isabel, but they seemed just as confused as she was. They all turned back to Dumbledore, listening intently, though Sirius used the opportunity to slide closer to Dawn and rest his hand on hers. Dawn tossed him a brief smile before the Headmaster spoke again.

"We have, for the first time in Hogwarts history, the pleasure of inviting the parents of our students to the castle for a weekend to acquaint, or in many cases, reacquaint themselves with the place their children spend their most crucial learning years! All your parents have been contacted, and will be arriving on Friday in two weeks. And on that happy note, best you all be off to your classes," Dumbledore smiled and waved his arms as if to shoo his students off.

Dawn and her friends joined the crush heading for the exit of the Great Hall, Dawn trying to accustom herself to Sirius' hand resting on her shoulder, making her skin tingle beneath her robes. They all stuck close together as they pushed their way out into the hall.

"So it's true then," an angry voice burst out above the general racket. "You're actually dating?"

They all stopped at the sound of the familiar voice. Sirius stiffened and let go of Dawn as they turned to face Regulus. The two brothers faced off and the passing students slowed in the hopes of seeing the argument everyone knew was coming.

James glared at them. "Get gone!" he snapped, and everyone in the hall who knew James Potter knew enough not to risk one of his hexes. The hall cleared with record speed.

"You got a problem, Reg?" Sirius asked coolly.

James, Remus and Peter exchanged apprehensive glances. For once it seemed that Regulus was not going to back down from his older brother. There was anger and a hint of disgust flashing through those dull grey eyes, and the younger boy's jaw was clenched.

"Yeah, I've got a problem, Sear. You know what shame this is going to bring on the family? It's one thing to spend your time hanging around blood-traitors, half-bloods and mudbloods, but to lower yourself to actually date one of them-"

"Enough," Sirius growled, cutting Regulus' tirade short. "You should know better by now little brother, I don't lower myself for anyone. If you weren't such a bloody mindless mummy's boy, you might actually be able to see that Dawn is equal to every member of the Black family in every way. Better than most, I'd wager."

Dawn blushed and looked down, torn between pride at Sirius' praise and guilt at being the reason it seemed the fragile bond between Sirius and Regulus would finally be severed.

Regulus glowered. "We'll see what mother and father have to say about that," he threatened.

Sirius laughed coldly. "Writing to your dear mummy again? What a surprise. Send her my best, Reg, and be sure to tell her that if I want to date Dawn Summers, I damn well will. If I want to kiss her- hell, if I want to stick my tongue down her throat, grope her and eventually 'taint' the Black family line by carrying it on with that deliciously 'dirty' blood of hers, I will and there's not a damn thing you gits can do about it!"

Silence reigned after Sirius' little declaration. Dawn's eyes had become impossibly round, and just a little fear-glazed. Dear God, but wasn't Sirius' passion something to marvel at? The ferocity with which he'd pretty much just declared himself for her in a very public manner was as bold as Buffy and Angel at their most tragic. Her breath caught in her throat as images of all those not exactly appropriate plans for them he'd mentioned flashed through Dawn's mind, and the knowledge came to her: Sirius Black was going to swallow her whole. He was going to light her soul on fire until it consumed her, she was completely helpless to stop it, and it didn't exactly sound like a bad thing. Regulus was staring dumbly at Sirius, unable to come up with a suitable reply.

"You got that, or do you need me to write it down for you?" Sirius snapped, having lost all patience for his too easily led brother.

With a scowl, and a quick glare to Dawn to let her know she was to blame for the rift between the two Black boys, Regulus stormed off down the hall, leaving the five older students staring after him. Dawn suddenly felt like crying. Less than a day together and already she was more trouble than she was worth for Sirius. She wouldn't be surprised if he broke it off with her then and there and saved himself all the hassle she was obviously going to cause. Her lower lip started to tremble.

Sirius noticed the impending waterworks and grabbed Dawn's arms supportively. The other three boys all of a sudden found something incredibly fascinating to stare at in the opposite direction. "Hey, Kitten. Hey, don't cry on me now," he pleaded. If he had to sing for her here, he'd never live it down.

"I'm sorry," Dawn said in a small voice. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

"You haven't caused any trouble, Kitten. It's not your fault they're complete gits, you understand me?" he soothed, and Dawn forced a smile for his benefit.

James arched an eyebrow at Remus as Sirius caught Dawn's lips in a slow, reassuring kiss and she snuggled herself into his arms. Remus gave a little grimace in response as James shook his head.

"Something tells me this Parent's Weekend thing is going to be very interesting."
There- I finally got them together! Bout bloody time, I know!!! Don't forget your review buttons! Sorry for the lack of notes & thanks to reviewers, TTH is being really annoying about notes these days. Will try to have notes on my livejournal soon, feel free to post questions and comments there as well, that address again is on my profile page! XAnoronX