Sirius Black Appreciation Day

School and Theme: Beauxbatons- Manhunt

Mandatory Prompt: [First/last line] He was, unfortunately, handsome.

Additional Prompt: [Pairing- any] Sirius Black/Lily Evans

Year: Exchange Student 2, filling in for Year 5

Wordcount: 2274


He was, unfortunately, handsome. This was not normally something that caused him any form of distress, except for the fact that he had inherited his family's traditional dark hair and brooding, grey eyes.

Usually, it would be closer to the truth to say that Sirius Black revelled in his remarkable good looks.

Typically, however, his handsomeness didn't result in him being hunted throughout Hogwarts—not on this scale anyway.

He had been cursing his perfectly formed features heartily since breakfast, when he'd been forced to run for his life, pursued by hordes of boy-crazed witches.

Sirius had finally managed to put some distance between himself and his pursuers. As he reached a staircase that would lead him to the third floor, he heard footsteps thundering behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, stifling a mixture between a laugh and a sob as he saw a particularly determined bunch of Hufflepuffs heading towards him with frightening alacrity.

Already sweating profusely, Sirius found a renewed burst of speed, thankful, for once, for the gruelling Quidditch training the Gryffindor Captain, Jordan Lyner, forced the team to do, rain or shine.

To his dismay, he saw a Ravenclaw, Claudia Davenport, waiting smugly up at the top of the stairs, effectively cutting off his escape route and his chance to disappear from Hogwarts through the secret passageway that lay just beyond. Sirius had always thought Claudia was pretty hot but she was currently looking at him like she would eat him for breakfast. He was terrified.

Hufflepuffs behind; a Ravenclaw ahead. Think, Sirius, think, he commanded himself.

At that moment, a bit of luck finally came his way and a staircase from the fifth floor started to move. With a cheeky salute to Claudia, Sirius took a running leap off his current staircase, landing with a thud on the ancient stone of the opposing steps.

He raced up the stairs, rejoicing at the empty corridor ahead. Turning a corner, he paused to lean against the wall and catch his breath, heart racing at his near escape. A grin lit his face as he thought of his impressive leap, wishing James had been there to see it.

James.

At the thought of his best friend, a scowl twisted Sirius' perfect aristocratic features, although he knew it wouldn't detract in the slightest from his striking good looks. He wasn't sure he'd ever forgive James for ruining what had previously been his favourite day of the year.

His friends found it odd how Sirius loved Valentine's Day more than his birthday or even Christmas, but then, he thought smugly, they didn't receive nearly as many goodies as he did.

Remus tended to be completely mortified by the few cards he did receive, some of which always included terribly written, melancholy poetry.

Little Peter would sulk at not receiving any cards, despite having generally sent at least five.

So, Sirius' only real competition was James, who was nearly as popular with the Hogwarts girls as he was himself. Nearly, but not quite. Sirius had received more cards than James two years in a row, a fact that had probably helped lead Sirius to his current predicament.

His thoughts flashed back to breakfast that morning.

Although he had slept late, he'd woken in a great mood, awaiting the delights of the day ahead. Bounding down to the Great Hall, he'd found his friends already tucking into their breakfast.

'Morning, Prongs,' he'd greeted jauntily, snatching the piece of toast that James had just buttered.

Ignoring his friend's indignant grunt, he had continued, 'Ready for the Sirius Black Appreciation Day festivities to begin?'

If Sirius hadn't taken that moment to turn to his other side and help himself to Remus' freshly poured pumpkin juice, he perhaps would have noticed the devious gleam that had appeared in James Potter's eye.

'Oh, I'm ready, Padfoot,' James said. 'What about you, Moony. Are you ready?'

With a swift glance at Sirius, Remus said, 'I am so ready, Prongs. What about you, Wormtail?'

Peter could only nod as a fit of giggles overtook him.

That had been Sirius' first indication that something may have been up.

'Peter, spill the beans. Tell Uncle Sirius what's going on?' he wheedled in what he thought was his most persuasive tone.

Remus and James shook their heads at the smallest member of their group.

'N-n-n-othing, just, eh, you know, eh, excited.'

'Excited?' asked Sirius.

Enthusiastically, Peter replied, 'Yes, that's it. I'm excited, coz, you know, for the, eh, visit to Hogsmeade.'

Lily Evans, who was sitting nearby, perked up at the mention of Hogsmeade. 'I'm excited too, Peter. I can't wait to see what new books Tomes and Scrolls has in.'

James rolled his eyes. 'Who cares about that, Evans, when there's Zonkos, Honeydukes…' he trailed off dreamily.

'The Shrieking Shack,' added Sirius.

Lily's brow furrowed as the four boys burst out laughing.

'Remus can't wait to find out if it really is haunted,' Sirius continued, making a spooky noise while wiggling his fingers in Remus' face. He received a glare from his friend in response.

Owls swooped into the Great Hall, one heading straight for Sirius at the Gryffindor table.

'Excellent,' he said, eyeing the red envelope in the owl's beak. 'Here's card number one now. It's not from you, is it, Evans?'

'In your dreams, Black,' she retorted before letting out a burst of laughter. 'I wouldn't be so sure it's a Valentine's card, if I were you,' She grinned and pointed at the envelope the owl had just dropped on Sirius' plate.

Sure enough, as Sirius lifted it up, he saw quite clearly it was a Howler. Had his mother decided to send him a Howler on Valentine's Day? That would be a new low, even for her.

James clasped a hand on Sirius' shoulder. 'Better open it quickly, Padfoot.'

Taking a quick gulp of Remus' pumpkin juice, Sirius did just that, preparing himself for his mother's shrill tones to boom throughout the hall.

To his surprise, a much deeper voice emerged from the smoking envelope, amplified for all to hear. It was the voice of the very wizard who still had his hand clasped on Sirius' shoulder.

'What the…' he began, as James' voice resounded in front of him.

'Ladies and gentlemen—well, just the ladies really—I would like to welcome you to the start of the Sirius Black Appreciation Day.'

At this, several titters could be heard from nearly every table in the Great Hall.

The Howler continued. 'To honour this great occasion, a prize is on offer. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so to speak.

'Today, on this most wondrous of days, you have the chance of winning the honour of being Sirius Black's Valentine's date to Hogsmeade.'

An eruption of girlish chatter started around the room, causing some of the teachers to shift uneasily in their seats. Professor McGonagall whipped out her wand, glancing sharply at Dumbledore, who simply smiled at the proceedings.

'How can you win this fair prize; I hear you asking. Well, all you have to do, young maidens, is be the first to catch Hogwarts' most handsome bachelor.'

Sirius looked in alarm at his friend, noticing Lily stifling a laugh at his expense.

With a final, 'Let the festivities begin,' the Howler burst into flames. This was followed by a second of stunned silence, and then the sound of girls rising from their seats.

Grinning, James turned to a stunned Sirius. 'I'd start running if I were you, mate.'

Sirius hadn't needed to be told twice. He had run from the Great Hall as what seemed like half the girls in Hogwarts took up the chase.

Now, as he caught his breath on the fifth floor corridor, Sirius lamented that he hadn't had the foresight that morning to nick James' invisibility cloak. He was trapped with no idea how he would manage to loop back to Gryffindor Tower with so many girls after him.

Think, Sirius, think. For some reason, Lily's face came to mind, her dancing green eyes laughing at him. If only he had had the courage to ask her to go to Hogsmeade with him.

They'd been partnered together for Potions this past month, much to Snivellus' displeasure. Slughorn had decided to separate the Marauders after they'd acted up one too many times in his class.

Sirius had been none too pleased with being paired up with Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes, and sure enough, when he'd moved to sit beside her, she'd greeted him with, 'Sirius Black, if you cause my potions grade to drop by even half a mark, I will make your life a living hell.'

She'd said this calmly but with a fierce glint in her eye. Oh, and she'd had her wand pointed at him too.

Holding his hands up in mock surrender, he'd replied, 'Easy there, Evans. Don't go poking my eye out with that thing. After all, for all we know, it could be you who causes my grade to drop.'

She'd given him a withering glare in reply, which he'd greatly resented.

Sirius had taken delight over the next month in proving her assessment of him wrong by excelling at the assignments, even doing extra reading she hadn't thought to do.

Pretty soon, the two had become friends, as Sirius discovered that once she relaxed a bit, Lily Evans had a great sense of humour. He'd always thought she was one of the fittest girls in their year, but knowing she was secretly funny too had made her go right to number one on the list of witches he'd like to date.

A flash of inspiration hit him. He remembered one of their conversations, chatting about their favourite places at Hogwarts while they'd been waiting for their potion to brew. Lily had told him about a secret study den she had discovered behind a bookcase in an unused classroom. One which, if memory served, she had said was located on the fifth floor.

What had she said again? Something about how the classroom was beside a painting of Merlin playing chess?

Sirius pushed himself off the wall and jogged down the corridor, eyes frantically searching the paintings as he went.

Sure enough, there Merlin was, deep in concentration as he moved his knight forward. Grinning, Sirius stepped into the classroom and found the bookcase immediately. But how to get the blasted thing to open?

He started to push books in at random, hoping one of them would activate the trigger switch and open the door.

He heard high pitched shrieks outside the room and tried a desperate Alohomora but to no avail. His eyes anxiously roved the shelves until they landed on a book entitled, 'The History of Wizarding Chess.' Sirius pushed the spine, and with a click, the bookcase swung open, revealing a snug space inside with books lining the walls and a huge mahogany table in the centre.

The bookcase closed automatically behind him and just in time too. Pressing his ear to the door, he heard a group of girls entering the classroom. Silently, Sirius thanked Lily for telling him about this safe place of refuge.

'I could have sworn he went in here,' he heard one of the girls wail. He let out a sigh of relief when they left.

Looking around the small room, he noticed a couple of cosy chairs and sank into one of them. He sat for a few minutes, head in his hands until he looked up in alarm, at the sound of a click.

The bookcase door swung open, and he jumped to his feet frantically looking for somewhere to hide.

He was relieved when a certain red-haired witch stepped through. 'Blimey, Evans, you trying to give me a heart attack?'

She smiled at him, eyes twinkling as she stepped into the room. 'I thought I'd find you here.'

'Welcome to my secret hideaway. Do have a seat,' Sirius said gallantly, holding out a chair for her.

'Don't mind if I do,' she replied, curtseying in kind. 'Thought you might be thirsty,' she said as she held out a flask.

'You are a goddess among women.' He took the flask and began gulping down the water within. 'It's thirsty work being hunted down.'

'Poor Sirius, just too good-looking for his own good.'

'I know, right? Wait…' He glanced at her slyly. 'You think I'm good-looking?'

Sirius was very gratified by the blush that spread out prettily on her face. He decided to take it as the sign he'd been looking for and finally made his move.

'So, eh, you were the first to catch me.'

'Yes, well, I, eh, thought you might be thirsty,' she replied, not quite meeting his eye.

'You know what this means, don't you?' Lily looked up at him. 'It means you get to be my date to Hogsmeade today,' he grandly proclaimed.

She laughed. 'What an honour, but one, you'll be glad to hear, I don't mind forgoing so you can take whatever poor girl you really want.'

He startled her by taking one of her dainty hands in his. It was his turn not to meet her eye. 'I have a confession. I've been trying to work up the courage to ask you all week.'

'Really?' she asked sceptically.

'Really.'

'Well, I guess it's a good thing I found you first then?' she said with a grin.

'I'd say it's a very good thing.' Beaming, he stood and offered her his arm. 'Shall we, my lady?'

'We shall,' she replied, happily taking the arm of her prize.

Maybe it wasn't so unfortunate that he was handsome after all.