A/N: Oh look! It's a little Sirius POV, as a treat ;) hopefully this sheds a bit more light on Sirius and Isa's complicated relationship. Also guys IDK what happened with chapter 4, I had to upload it multiple multiple times and I'm still not even sure if you can see it, it has a few views now but idk, also please do me a favor and let me know if this uploads properly and you can actually see it!

Chapter 5

Sirius POV-

I really wished I could say that I saw Isa as a little sister. That I had some sort of brotherly instinct towards her, that we got along like a house on fire. But instead our relationship - or lack thereof - was just more of a burning building in general.

In my defense, I had had no idea she was the little sister of my future best mate when I told everyone she had Dragon Pox first year. Actually, it wasn't my finest moment period, but hey. I was eleven, and she had just scared the actual shit out of me and then broken the broom my dying Uncle Alphard had gifted me. He was the only family member I actually liked, besides my older cousin Andromeda.

Later I'd tried to apologize, but she wouldn't let me get anywhere close to her. So while my friendship with her brother grew into something more like brotherhood, the other Potter and I went the opposite way. We grew to honestly and truly despise each other.

Most of the time we just ignored each other for the sake of James, who had long since ceased begging us to try to get along - but when we did interact, it was always explosive. Of course the Dragon Pox incident had been the thing to start it all, but after that...well, everything I did just seemed to rub her the wrong way. She always seemed to catch me at my worst moments. Fifth and sixth year I think she had either walked in on me or caught me sneaking out of broom closets with probably no less than ten different girls.

I had told her that the way I saw it, I was doing them the favor seeing as they were always the ones thanking me breathlessly afterwards - but she hadn't thought it was funny. Her green eyes flashed and rolled and she sighed loudly, stomping past me. She did that a lot, come to think of it. It was very annoying. It wasn't as if I didn't find her nice looking - if I was being completely honest with myself, the way she looked was positively sinful. But I never, ever let my head stray down that path. That was off limits, even to me. James was my absolute best mate. Not to mention she drove me bonkers - and the feeling was mutual.

Anyway. Her exact words may have been that I "used girls like tissues, once, and then threw them away, in an effort to try and fill the massive hole where my heart should have been."

Which was why I was absolutely shocked when she confided in me that night after the party that had changed my life forever. And why I was equally as shocked when I found myself confiding in her as well.

She was still the only one who knew. I had this giant secret inside of me, screaming to get out, and Isa Potter of all people was the only one I'd felt comfortable enough telling. In the space of time since the party - that is to say, two days - I'd already written Gwyneth six times. She'd sent me exactly one letter back, telling me to calm down while she sorted herself out. Which didn't exactly ease my soon-to-be-father jitters.

"Hey Sirius," Mary MacDonald's voice broke me out of my reverie. She was staring at me with a big grin, twirling a strand of light blonde hair around her finger. "When are Quidditch tryouts?"

"I do believe they're tonight, actually," I leaned forward towards her, giving her a grin. "Care to be my good luck charm again this year?" Her cheeks turned red as I gave her a wink, briefly remembering the scene after last year's Quidditch tryouts.

And then I faltered slightly. I could see Gwyneth's face as she'd told me she was pregnant. Tears had been streaming from her eyes, and her hands were shaking. I couldn't risk that, never again. "On second thought," I added quickly, feeling the weight settle back onto my shoulders again. "Let's not tonight. But look for me at the party after our first game, yeah?"

Peter gave me an odd look from the corner of his eye.

"Not like you to turn down a shag," he teased quietly, pushing his stringy brown hair from out of his eyes. I smiled briefly at him.

"Now now, Wormtail. I'm turning over a new leaf. New year new Sirius, and all that." I kicked my feet up on the table, grinning broadly. Inside, though, I felt like a piece of me was missing. I couldn't figure out of it was because I was in love with Gwyneth, the fact that I was soon going to be changing nappies, or a bit of both. To be honest though, I wasn't even sure how I felt about Gwyneth anymore. Something had changed over the summer. Even before the baby news.

We had both been - well, slightly promiscuous, would be the kind way of putting it. What can I say? I enjoyed sex. But Gwyneth and I, we always kept coming back together. Now she was graduated, though, and this summer...well, something had definitely shifted. It was almost as if I was growing bored of the same old casual thing, over and over again. It was meaningless. Not that I wanted to settle down and get married or anything ghastly like that. I was just...growing tired of the way things were.

"We'll see," Peter snorted, and I rolled my eyes. "Oi Padfoot, there's your best friend," he pointed at the door, which had just opened. My eyes flickered upwards, landing on Isa Potter with a jolt. She was coming through behind Lily Evans and Landon Diggory, walking in conversation with none other than Amos Diggory. What was she doing with that bloke, anyway? It sure seemed to me like he had broken her heart. Why anyone would want to hang around with someone after they'd been absolutely stomped on by them, was beyond me.

I quickly turned back to Mary, striking up a meaningless conversation about summers and Quidditch. I sensed, rather than saw, Lily and Isa sit down besides Peter and I, and though I was physically in the conversation with Mary, I was listening intently to Peter's greeting and the girls' response.

It wasn't long before, finally, our new professor swept into the room. I slowly turned away from Mary and Linda, making a conscious effort to keep my eyes off Isa. I could see her, though, from the corner of my eye, taking her ponytail out and letting her long, curly hair tumble down around her shoulders.

"I am Professor Cromwell," she announced, gliding towards the front of the room. Her long, silver hair trailed behind her in a braid all the way down her back, golden robes swishing as she closed the door and turned the lights off with a wave of her wand. She lit the candles on the tables and the walls with a silent spell, a hundred golden flames suddenly dancing together.

"Oooh," the class whispered appreciatively as the room was thrown into darkness, our shadows dancing mysteriously on the walls from the flickering candles.

"I am your new Divination Professor. Many of you may be skeptical about this class, about this branch of magic - I understand. I do not take it personally, and I welcome questions, I welcome respectful debate. I am here to teach, I am here to expand your minds, but I am also here to learn from you." She held eye contact with all of us, though she almost seemed to linger a little bit longer on Potter. Though maybe it was my imagination.

"There is a difference between Divination and being a Seer. Divination is something to be practiced and grown; all witches and wizards have a natural inkling towards premonition, some more than others. But being a Seer is something one is born with. I am a diviner, a skill I have honed over many years. Wether or not I myself am a Seer, I will not say at this moment in time so to not influence your judgement on the several types of Divination that we will be covering first." There was slight whispering at this - a Divination teacher who wouldn't say wether or not she was actually a Seer?

"She seems a tad batty, don't you think?" Peter whispered over to me.

"Bit of a nutter," I agreed, locking my fingers behind my head and leaning back in my seat. Isa and Lily whipped their heads around towards the both of us, fixing us with light and dark green eyes and matching glares. I crossed my eyes at Potter, who scoffed in disgust and turned back around.

"What I will teach you first is the history and background of this subject, as well as multiple divining techniques. Some of these include tasseomancy, dream interpretation, arithmancy and ancient runes, and finally, astrology."

"Perfect - easy O," I leaned forward, whispering to Wormtail. We high-fived silently under the table.

"Mister Black, Mister Pettigrew." I jumped slightly in my seat as Professor Cromwell whirled towards us, an almost mischievous smile on her face. It caught me only slightly off-guard that she already knew our names, but then again, she'd probably been warned. "I thought I heard you say you'd like to be our first volunteers?" She clasped her hands together, silver and turquoise rings glinting from the light of the candles. I noticed then, as she approached us, that her eyes were an eerie sort of violet color. They looked almost purple in the fire's glow; for a moment, I felt frozen to my seat.

"Erm-well," Peter squeaked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Absolutely," I grinned, standing to my feet and shaking off the jitters. "Who's future shall I reveal today? Yours, perhaps?" A titter went through the classroom - I knew I was being over the top, but I couldn't stand being made to look like a fool, even by this hocus pocus professor. But Professor Cromwell only grinned, which unsettled me even more.

"If I wanted such an elementary estimate at what my future holds, my dear, I would simply consult what the muggles call a fortune cookie," she told me, and my eyes narrowed slightly. I didn't quite get what she'd said, but I knew enough to understand I'd been insulted, based on the fact that Lily Evans and a few other Muggle-born witches and wizards were suddenly snickering. "No, today, Mister Black, I will be giving you a taste of your own future." Her eyes flashed back to me and suddenly my body felt locked into place once more, like I couldn't move - all I could see was the purple of her eyes. After a moment several emotions flickered across her face; shock, and something that looked like pity - which I hated more than anything else in the world.

"That thing you have been so worried about the last two days, Mister Black, will pass over your cup," she said softly, her voice suddenly gentle as she took a step closer to me. "You needn't stress any more. It is not your responsibility to bear, though it seems like it for now." I stared at her and tried not to let my jaw drop; I could feel my heart thumping in my chest, and suddenly my hands felt clammy. My ears rang with what she'd said - the thing I've been so worried about the past two days? That was eerily specific. I quickly sat back down, vaguely aware that Isa was staring at me so intensely I could practically hear her thoughts. I purposefully avoided eye contact with her, making a mental note to run out of class as quickly as I possibly could.

Pass over my cup? What exactly did that mean? I was also vaguely aware, in my peripheral, that Wormtail was giving me an odd sort of look, and that Professor Cromwell had gone on to continue talking about 'magic aided perceptions' - whatever that meant.

Clearly, the thing I'd been worried about the last few days was becoming a teenage father to a bouncy baby...something. But how had she known? She hadn't said it explicitly...had she been reading my mind? But she hadn't seed the Legimens spell, hadn't been pointing her wand, and it hadn't felt like she had been prying around in my brain. And believe me, I knew what that felt like; my own dear mother had dug around in my head a time or two.

I was shaken back to the present by the sight of words appearing on the parchment in front of me.

Padfoot - you okay? Peter's handwriting scratched itself out. He was writing on his own parchment, but his words appeared on mine - and mine would on his. Same with James and Remus. It was a little trick we'd put together back in fifth year so we could write each other messages when we were bored in class while making it look like we were simply taking notes.

I'm alright, Wormy, I wrote back after dipping my quill in the inkwell. The old bat just shook me up a bit, is all.

While I couldn't ignore the churning ball of stress in the pit of my stomach, I knew I had three solid friends who would help me through anything, no matter what. Either that or I'd just turn permanently into my animagus form as a dog and live out my life as the happy, docile pet dog to some little boy or girl.

Honestly, the option was looking better and better each day.

Isa POV

I tried my hardest to pay attention to the lesson, to take notes and write down upcoming assignments - because honestly, this was the best Divination professor we'd had in years. She was logical, knew her material, and best of all, wasn't trying to pretend to be a Seer. In fact, she wouldn't even tell us if she was one.

But under the table, my leg was bouncing, and I couldn't stop tapping the end of my quill against my chin. Sliding sideways glances at Black - who was hunched over the table, scribbling away at a bit of parchment I was sure wasn't notes - I couldn't stop thinking about the way his face had gone white when Professor Cromwell mentioned the thing he was worrying about.

As soon as she'd said that, my mind had set to racing - was she picking up on subtle body cues? Was Black giving off tells that he was worried about something? Or did she actually know? I was intrigued; I wanted to speak to this woman, one-on-one.

But now, for whatever reason, I was slightly concerned for Black. I wasn't sure what was going on his head. I felt like I'd ever only really gotten one glimpse of the inner workings of his mind, and that was a couple nights ago on the ground of an abandoned parking lot, in the middle of the night. The rest of the time he was so completely closed off to me. I had the sudden, desperate urge to go back to that night, to get inside his mind again. It wasn't the first time that I wondered why someone who got along with my brother so perfectly got on not just my last nerve, but every single one of them.

Apparently I wasn't the only one who desired to speak with Professor Cromwell after class, because when she dismissed us, nearly half of the students rushed forward immediately. I quickly threw my things into my bag and stood up, but Black was already darting out the door, Pettigrew on his heels.

"Black!" I called after him, motioning to Lily to run with me. "Hold on!" I hurried after him down the stairs, but he didn't stop. I knew he heard me, because even Peter turned around to look, giving me an apologetic wince as his friend practically sprinted down the staircases without a backwards glance.

"Sirius Black," I hissed after finally reaching him, grabbing his robe sleeve. "I was trying to ask if I could speak with you!" He finally turned back to look at me and my stomach jumped up into my chest. Slightly out of breath, I stared at him. His eyes were stormy as he stared at me, his jaw set.

"What do you need?" His voice was strained. His tie was hanging around his shoulders, not tied at all, the top of his white shirt unbuttoned. God, why did he have to look like that?

"To speak with you, that's what I've just said," I snipped, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Lily and Peter glancing at each other wearily and then to us. But I refused to have my ten thousandth row with Black just now, I was honestly trying to check in on him. He finally nodded reluctantly, allowing me to pull him around the corner and down a mostly abandoned corridor.

"What?" Black asked, eyes flickering over my shoulder as he raked his hands through his black hair. I had rarely seen him look so unsettled.

"I want to know what's been up with you," I started firmly. "Hold on!" I blurted quickly, seeing him open his mouth. "And don't say it's the fact that you're having a baby."

"Technically, love, I'm not the one-"

"Oh, stop!" I cried, and Black smirked. Well, at least annoying me could take that bloody worried expression off his face. "Look," I said to him, reigning in my annoyance. He shifted his weight to one foot, deftly tucking his wand behind his ear. If anyone else would have done that, it would have looked ridiculous. "You're...you're my brother's best mate, Black. We've known each other since we were eleven, and you've been living with us the last couple summers. I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but now we've got this...well, this sort of thing that we've shared." I took a deep breath, continuing along quickly before I could lose my courage. "And now you're taking all these extra, increasingly obvious steps to avoid me."

"I'm not avoiding you," Black shot back immediately, crossing his arms. Raising my eyebrow, I mirrored his position, crossing my own arms over my chest. He rolled his eyes, uncrossing his.

"You sprinted down a flight of stairs so not to talk to me," I told him sardonically. "And this morning, when I sat down at the table, you took off so quickly you forgot your entire bag." I quieted for a moment, trying to get him to fill the silence. No such luck. "I get that you're not a touchy-feely guy," I told him after a few moments, and he made a face. "But...well, I just wanted to say...if you want, we can call a sort of truce, I guess. I mean, isn't this rivalry getting a bit old? Maybe we confided in each other for a reason, Black. Maybe we're supposed to get along. Your best mate is my brother, for God's sake." For some reason, my heart was pounding so hard in my chest I was sure Black could hear it. For some reason, I really wanted him to say yes Isa, let's be friends, let's stop this childish nonsense. For some reason, I knew I was going to be incredibly hurt if he didn't.

"Isa," his voice was scratchy, suddenly, and I started at his use of my first name. I could probably count on one hand the amount of times he'd called me Isa and not Izzy or Potter. "That night was a drunken mistake. You said it yourself, your brother is my best mate. I hadn't even told him yet. And it was the same for you, I think. It was just because we were there. I was there, so you confided in me. You were there, so I confided in you." I stared at him, disbelieving.

"You really think that was just a drunken thing?" My voice was harsh.

"Well, yeah, Potter. What do you think it was? You're the one who said we're like oil and water. What, we're supposed to put six years of dislike aside just because we had one good talk?" Black's voice raised slightly. I glared at him, looking up angrily.

"Why can't you just grow up?" I threw my hands up in exasperation, frustrated at his sudden anger. He was just so - so daft sometimes. All the time, actually.

"I could say the same to you!" Black practically yelled back, his grey eyes wide as he looked down at me. My eyes accidentally darted down to those undone top buttons that for some reason were so distracting, but I pulled them up again quickly. "You're the one that's held this grudge against me for years, Potter! All because of that stupid bloody incident in first year-"

"Stupid?" I raised my voice to match his. "No one talked to me for weeks Black, weeks! People actually ran out of the room when I entered it! Do you know what that does to a first year girl's confidence?" I was yelling by this point.

"Furthermore, breaking your broom was an accident! And it's not as if you stopped being an arse after that, you were an absolute prat whenever I was around!" My hands were shaking slightly now. "You constantly call me by the wrong name, you mock me, you play mean pranks on me, need I remind you of the underwear hanging in the Great Hall incident - you're just an arse, Sirius Orion Black!" I was really getting worked up now, remembering all of the shitty things Sirius Black had done in the past. "And you basically took my brother away from me!"

Whoops. I hadn't actually meant to let that last one slip. I guess growing up with basically just James to hang around with - our parents were older, so we didn't really have any cousins our age, or any close by child neighbors - had made me sort of dependent on my older brother.

Hell, I'd even pitched such a big fit that I'd been allowed to attend Hogwarts in his year, even though my birthday was technically just before the cutoff. But anyway, once Hogwarts had started, I had spent the first couple weeks in the hospital wing. And when I'd come out, my brother had these new friends, this new group, that I wasn't a part of. I'd found my own friends, sure, and I knew James still loved me, but it wasn't the same. I also supposed that was probably the reason why I hadn't told him yet that I wasn't actually his blood sister. It would be just another reason to be behind Black in whatever twisted sort of competition we had.

"You're off your rocker," Black announced, taking a step closer to me and glaring down. I had to crane my neck to look completely up at him. His cheeks looked as flushed as mine felt, and his eyes were dark with anger.

"I can't believe how fucking smug you're being," I hissed in a low voice, my nose practically touching his now. My entire body felt like it was on fire; I was ultra-aware of the way Black's lashes curled up, the way his breath smelled like Everton mints, and how his skin somehow managed to retain whatever bronze glow the weak English sun had given him. Disgusting. "You're the biggest git I know." I knew I was lashing out now; I felt rejected, and I had to grab back whatever power I could still reach.

"Well if that's how you really feel, why would you even want to be friends with me in the first place?" Black demanded.

"I don't!" I hissed right in his face, absolutely seething. We glared at each other, eye to eye, for probably just a second too long. Feeling extremely shaken up and confused I whirled on the spot and stormed away from him down the corridor. When I turned the corner, I could still see, in my peripheral vision, Black rooted to the same spot I'd left him in.

A/N: Can we feel the sexual tension?