Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K.'s characters. The only one that belongs to me is Katie.
Hi all! Thank you so much for the lovely reviews and all of the follows! I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the story so far. This chapter is definitely going to get a lot more interesting. So enjoy and let me know how you like it. Check out below for Track 3 in the How to Be a Heartbreaker Playlist 3
Track 3: Clumsy by Fergie
The first time that I saw your eyes
Boy, you looked right through me
Play it cool, but I knew you knew
That cupid hit me
Chapter Three - Clumsy
September 6th, 1977
The daily stampede of late-to-class students was already in full swing as Katie and Alice made their way down to the dungeons for their first N.E.W.T. level Potions class. Whether it was the terrified bundles of wide-eyed first years or the newest couple of randy fourth years having a snog, the staircase was dangerous at the best of times but especially so when one was running late.
"I knew you were going to make me late," Katie moaned to Alice and side stepped a tiny, confused first year who had simply stopped dead in the middle of the staircase like a child lost in the forest. "I don't see why you and Frank can't grab a waffle together on the way to class instead of spending an hour giggling over each other at breakfast. We're going to be in so much trouble."
"Oh relax," Alice rolled her eyes. "Slughorn would never dream of putting you in detention."
"Detention?" Katie asked bewildered and scowled at her best mate. "I'm referring to the fact that we won't be able to get seats together now. Slughorn always hands out the first project based on seat assignments and now we're going to get the bottom of the bag."
"We won't be the only ones late. Beside, Lily always saves us seats," Alice reasoned just as they rounded the corner to Dungeon 12. "It's not like we'll get paired with Snape."
"We could do much, much worse," Katie assured her as they hurried into Dungeon 12 and she glanced hesitantly around the room. As predicted, the room was full and Lily had not saved them seats. The first empty seat she spotted was next to a seventh year Ravenclaw who was quiet but decently talented at Potions and she relaxed a bit. At least she would be dependable. The second empty seat, however, was next to an all too familiar sandy blonde head.
Perhaps the universe just hated her today, Katie mused, because of course Eddie Bones would be sitting by himself.
"Merlin and Agrippa," she groaned.
Alice grinned, "I'll just take the seat next to Miranda, shall I?" And without giving Katie a chance to respond, she hopped over to the Ravenclaw's table asking, "Is this seat taken?"
Katie stood for a moment and indulged herself in sending imaginary daggers at Alice's back. As much as she loved her, there were times she wondered if she might be better off without a best mate. Like, for example, when said best mate abandoned her, forcing her to sit next to and ultimately get paired for a project with the boy she'd had a crush on for years. A boy that she had firmly decided not to waste any more time mooning over.
Cursing her luck and meddling mates, she reluctantly made her way over to Eddie's table.
"Er, hi," she said quickly when he looked up at the sound of her footsteps. He had a hopeful look on his face that disappeared almost immediately when he saw it was only her. How encouraging. "Is someone sitting here?"
Eddied frowned at the stool next to him but shook his head, "Help yourself."
"Thanks," she murmured and climbed onto the seat just as Slughorn took his place at the front of the classroom. She glanced sideways at Eddie. He didn't seem any more pleased by their situation than she did.
"Quiet down now, quiet down," Slughorn began. "As I'm sure you're all aware, I will be assigning the first project of term today. I hope you have chosen your seatmates wisely as they have now become your partner for the next few weeks. Please take out your books and begin looking through the Concealment Potions. These will be an important classification for those of you looking to work undercover for the Ministry when you leave Hogwarts."
He looked around meaningfully as excited whispers broke out, "Choose a potion with your partner and let me know by the end of class the name of the potion and what day and time you plan to meet outside of class. Please keep in mind that Potions taking longer than three weeks to brew will not be allowed."
He waved a hand in dismissal and the class immediately broke into excited chatter again. To Katie's surprise, Eddie turned and gave her a charming smile. "Any good at Potions?" he asked.
Katie felt her cheeks get pink, "I'm decent, I suppose. I've made it this far so I must be doing something right."
"Well that's good," he replied and she noticed he seemed slightly dejected. "I'm rubbish. I only passed last year because I was dating Ella Brown, you know that girl from Ravenclaw? She's ace at Potions. We were always studying."
Katie raised her brows slightly. She remembered Ella, of course. Eddie and Ella had been notorious for their library snogging most of the last term and their break up had been explosive. They'd nearly sent Madam Pince to the infirmary from stroke when one of their fights erupted in the library. Katie was positive not a lot of studying had actually been done, but if he was as bad as he claimed they must have done more than their snogging habits suggested.
"Well hopefully I can live up to her, erm, reputation," Katie replied lightly but Eddie didn't seem worried.
He gave her another absent smile, "So what are Concealment Potions?"
"Well," Katie replied, patiently opening her book and only momentarily wondering how he had passed the exams to get into this class without knowing his Potion classifications. "They are potions that allow the user to conceal part of their appearance or personality. They can be very simple or very complex but they're dead useful for Aurors and Ministry Agents."
"Right, right," Eddie replied and nodded as he seemed to recall learning that. "Like the Polyjuice Potion, right?"
"Exactly," Katie replied, slightly relieved that he wasn't as thick as she first thought. "Though that one takes longer than three weeks so we won't be able to use that one."
Eddied nodded in acknowledgement and began scanning the pages in her book. She sincerely hoped that he wasn't going to choose the easiest of the bunch. Despite his good looks and her maddening crush on him, she did have a reputation to maintain and she knew for a fact that Slughorn gave better grades for harder projects.
"What about this one?" he asked.
"The Volubilis Potion?" she asked in surprise. She'd been hoping he'd choose something challenging and he hadn't disappointed. Meant to alter or restore the human voice, it was a multi-step, detail driven potion that required multiple sessions. She'd have been lying if she said she wasn't thoroughly pleased. "I'm game, if you are. It's fairly complicated though."
"I trust you," he answered and gave her a friendly nudge with his elbow.
Katie felt the blush start to creep into her cheeks again and quickly stood up in the hopes of distracting her body. "Great!" she said brightly. "What days work best for you? I don't want to get in the way of Quidditch or your time with Mary."
"Oh no worries there," he scoffed and his eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.
"You're not playing Quidditch this year?" Katie replied and started to apologize when he interrupted.
"Of course I am. I'm the Captain. It's Mary. We broke up yesterday," he informed her and she had to mentally force herself not to clap her hands in childish glee. Eddie Bones was single and had no choice but to spend one on one time with her for nearly three weeks? It seemed too good to be true.
"Oh I'm so sorry Eddie. Are you okay?" she gushed and ignored the annoying voice in her head that reminded her she had sworn off men this year - this one in particular.
"I will be," he assured her and glanced down at her warmly. "You're sweet, Prewett. How come we've never hung out?"
Too good to be true, the little voice whispered in her ear again. But she promptly squashed it.
"Oh you know, it's a big school. I'm sure we both just spend a lot of time with people in our own houses." She knew it wasn't true in his case but she didn't want to remind him that she'd been practically invisible to him most of their seven years under the same castle roof. Don't tempt the universe when it's handing out candy, Prewett, she thought.
"Well we have no choice now, eh?" he laughed not knowing his words mirrored her thoughts and pulled his Quidditch schedule from his rucksack. "When should we get started?"
She glanced through his schedule and saw his Thursday evenings were free, "Will Thursdays work?"
"Sounds good to me," he answered and grinned mischievously at her. "I was worried you were going to pick a Friday or something. Can't let school ruin our weekend, you know?"
"Of course not," Katie agreed eagerly. No need to tell him that she often spent her weekends in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout or working with Kettleburn's creatures.
He glanced down at his watch, "So are we good here? If I leave now I'll have just enough time to grab a bite before practice starts."
"Oh! Oh yes, of course. Everything's settled," Katie assured him and he started gathering his things. "I'll just let Slughorn know our plans. He usually gives me pick of the best dungeons for projects."
"You're the best. See you around?"
"Definitely," she nodded and he took off without a backwards glance. When he was gone, she sighed and felt her cheeks finally start to cool off. Damn that boy and his ridiculous good looks. She could barely think when he smiled at her let alone stay true to her no-boys-this-term rule. She was in big trouble, she thought as she stood and headed up to give Slughorn their chosen assignment with her stomach still full of butterflies. Big, big trouble.
Sirius listened to the exchange between Katie and Eddie with growing disgust. What was it with birds and Eddie Bones? Didn't they know he was a slimy git? At the moment, he was putting on a bloody show for Prewett and she was just eating it up.
Not much of a poker face on her, he mused and shook his head.
"Sirius," Marlene McKinnon repeated his name for the third time. "Hello? Have you chosen a potion yet?"
"What?" he replied and blinked, looking at her absently. "Sure. How about…..that one."
"The Shrinking Solution? Black, you're bonkers."
"Why?" he replied with a shrug and scanned it. It would be difficult but nothing they couldn't handle. He'd received nearly perfect marks on his sixth year Potions examination. He wasn't worried. "Pick something easier if you want but Slughorn only gives recommendations to students who impress him. I thought you wanted to be an Auror."
Marlene scowled and studied the potion again, "Yes, alright fine. We'll work on the Shrinking-"
"Marley, explain something to me will you?" he interrupted her, scowling at Eddie and Katie again. She had just started gushing over Eddie's recent breakup. "What the hell is so damn interesting about Eddie Bones?"
Marlene followed his gaze and rolled her eyes when she spotted Katie practically fawning over the boy in question, "Nothing in particular, I assure you. That one just happens to have been madly in love with him since third year despite her efforts to deny otherwise."
"She's never going to land him," Sirius replied. He'd already seen Eddie recognize Katie's starry eyes and immediately take advantage of it. For Merlin's sake, he'd told the girl he was bloody rubbish at Potions and she'd still let him pick a particularly difficult Potion. Eddie would get a good grade and a recommendation from Slughorn and Katie would do all the work. Obvious. Sirius scowled again, "Can't she see he's using her?"
Marlene raised a curious eyebrow, "And you care because?"
"I don't," he assured her and shook his head as he turned away from them. "Just don't understand how a girl that smart can be so bloody blind."
Not one to shy away from the truth, Marlene snorted in laughter, "That's an awful lot coming from you, Sirius. Aren't you the king of love 'em and leave 'em?"
Sirius smirked, "There's a great difference between enjoying the ladies and being a manipulative prat, love. At least I offer a proper snog as part of the deal. Bones will only shine it on until he gets what he wants. He won't commit to anything, not even an easy snog."
Marlene made a face, "Leave it to you to have a twisted morality attached to your womanizing ways."
She shook her head and glanced at Katie again just as Eddie sauntered out of the dungeon, "If you're so offended by his methods maybe you should warn her."
"It's not so much offense as it is distaste for his methods," he corrected but a thought had started taking shape in his head at Marlene's suggestion. Not to warn her, no. But it might be the perfect opportunity to square things with her, get rid of the nagging sense of guilt over what she had done for him that day after the Hippogriff debacle. If Katie Prewett wanted a date with Eddie Bones so bad, who was he to judge? But to pull it off she was going to need a considerable amount of help and he highly doubted there was anyone more qualified for the job than himself.
"Where are you going?" Marlene demanded as he suddenly stood up. "We haven't picked a day to work on our project."
He waved her off, "Just pick an evening we don't have Quidditch practice. I'll make it work."
Katie had just started to make her way back to her table and, leaving behind a fuming Marlene, he timed his arrival just as she started putting her books and parchment back into her rucksack.
"You know," he began casually. "Eddie Bones will never go for a girl like you."
Her head whipped up and, if looks could kill, Sirius was positive he'd have been dead on the spot. Good, he thought. Got her attention.
"And how do you know that?" she demanded coolly. Honestly, the nerve on this one, she thought in annoyance. Had he been spying on her the whole class? Listening to her conversation with Eddie?
"Let's just say I have experience in these matters," he told her and watched in amusement as she fought her temper with an impressive amount of self control. He wasn't sure why he enjoyed getting her riled up but her spark of temper was oddly refreshing. Yes, he imagined it would be quite satisfying to teach her how to chew up Eddie Bones and spit him out.
"And why," Katie ground out between her teeth, "do you even care?"
"I owe you one," he replied simply, surprising her enough that her temper cooled slightly.
She frowned at him, "So you decided insulting me was the best way to pay me back?"
"I'm not insulting you, Prewett," Sirius sighed in exasperation. "I'm trying to help you. Eddie Bones will never respect a girl who goes all goo-goo eyed every time he walks in the room. He'll only use you to get what he wants and move onto the next girl with hearts in her eyes."
"I do not get goo-goo eyes," she replied hotly. "And what do you know about it, anyway? Every girl that gets within ten feet of you nearly trips over herself if you so much as look at her. Aren't you just like him?"
"Hardly," he replied patiently and raised a single eyebrow. "Do you want to date the bloke or not?"
"I don't see why it's any of your business," Katie insisted. She should have known this thing with Eddie was too good to be true. Now it had drawn unwanted attention from Sirius Black and that was certain to be a bad sign.
"Fine," Sirius shrugged. "If you don't want to hook him, it's no skin off my nose. But don't say I didn't warn you. This was a one-time offer."
He watched intently as the gears started turning in her head and wondered if she knew how unbelievably transparent her face was. He imagined she didn't because he saw the grudging acceptance on her face before she ever opened her mouth. He started to turn away but she didn't need more convincing.
"Alright, just wait a minute," she said quickly and he looked back at her as she started chewing on her bottom lip. She couldn't deny that her track record was awful. Clearly, she was rubbish at relationships and she certainly hadn't been successful thus far in getting Eddie to notice her. Did she really need help? Did she want help? Maybe she should just take it as a sign that she and Eddie weren't meant to be. But then again, Eddie seemed to have been dumped into her lap at a perfectly opportune moment and that was hard to ignore. She glanced at Sirius - and what did he get out of all this? It was hard to imagine he'd go to the trouble to help her woo a boy he hated just because she'd healed a black eye.
Still, she thought. It couldn't hurt to hear what he had to say, could it?
"What exactly did you have in mind?" she said with more confidence than she was feeling.
He gave her slow, lazy smile, "I can teach you."
"Teach me what?" she replied suspiciously.
"How to drive him mad," Sirius said and his eyes narrowed intently. "Blokes like Eddie, they like a girl they can chase. The fun is in the kill. He won't stick around if he doesn't have to try."
Katie raised her eyebrows in an expression that clearly showed she wasn't impressed with Sirius' analysis. The fun is in the kill? Honestly. He made it seem like it was a bloody sport. Not exactly what a girl trying to create a lasting relationship wants to hear. But the temptation of Eddie outweighed her better judgement.
"And you can teach me how to do that?" she responded dryly and tilted her head as she considered. "Isn't this like trade secrets or something? Aren't you breaking some male code?"
"If he was my mate, yes. But he's not," Sirius assured her and grinned. "So is that a yes?"
Katie pursed her lips, still unconvinced, "What do you get out of it?"
"I told you already," he picked up one of her quills and twirled it between his fingers. "I owe you a favor. I happen to be particularly good at this sort of thing."
And an arrogant toerag, she thought and resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head and snatched the quill from his hand. "This is ridiculous. I'm not going to take tips from a womanizing madman on how to land a date."
Sirius could see he was losing her interest and thought quickly.
"A bet then," he replied and couldn't help the grin. He did enjoy a good bet. "I bet I can teach you how to get a date with Eddie Bones by the first Hogsmeade trip."
"And if you can't?"
She couldn't help it. She was intrigued despite the warning bells going off in her head.
He paused for a moment considering, "If I can't. I'll have breakfast in the Great Hall. Naked."
Katie's jaw dropped, "You're not serious."
"I am," he replied and stuck his hand out. "Do we have a deal?"
Katie stared at his outstretched hand for a moment. Every nerve in her body screaming that this was dangerous. Sirius Black didn't do things like this, let alone out of the goodness of his heart. Was he just bored? Was she some sort of twisted entertainment for him? There had to be some catch but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it might be. And really, what was the worst that could happen? Eddie wouldn't ask her out and she might finally get over him. Right?
Bugger it. She took Sirius's hand, "Deal."
"Are you free tomorrow evening? Around 8?" he kept her hand in his.
She nodded, "Yes."
"Perfect," he replied and brought her fingers to his lips with a ridiculous wink. "Meet me in the library. We'll get started then. Wear something sexy."
The next morning...
September 7th, 1977
The next morning Katie stumbled into Greenhouse 5 with her hair stuffed into a bun on top of her head and her eyes still half closed in sleep. Almost as soon as Sirius had walked out of the dungeon the previous afternoon, she'd begun to doubt her decision. She had laid awake half the night with visions of Sirius exposing her poor relationship abilities to the whole school or teaming up with Eddie to make a fool of her. As a result, she hadn't slept more than a few hours and only just woke up with enough time to throw on her uniform, brush her teeth, and stumble across the grounds to Herbology.
"Merlin, Katie. Rough night?" Lily asked as she joined her, Marlene, and Alice at a table. Professor Sprout had already set the assignment for the day and the girls had just started harvesting and rolling gillyweed from the aquarium on the table.
Katie scrubbed her hands over her face, "Just didn't sleep well. First week jitters, I guess."
Alice frowned and waved a piece of gillyweed at her, "Since when do you get the jitters about class?"
"Better jitters than that awful wailing coming from Mary's bed last night," Marlene grumbled and rolled her gillyweed aggressively enough that it started to tear. "Bollocks, I hate this stuff. Anyway, you'd think he broke up with her from the way she went on about it last night."
"Eddie and Mary broke up?" Alice asked and sent a sideways look at Katie. "Do tell."
Lily rolled her eyes, "It happened at dinner Tuesday night. She caught him staring at Ella Brown, his ex, you know? To be fair she did lose a lot of weight this summer and she looks amazing. But Mary got jealous, accused him of not being over her and broke up with him on the spot. He honestly didn't seem too put out by it if you ask me. Maybe that's why Mary's so worked up about it."
"It's more likely she just wants the attention," Katie replied grumpily. "I can't figure what blokes see in her."
"Hmm, well hopefully she gets over it quickly," Alice stated flatly. "I'd hate a repeat of last year."
"Well maybe Katie can keep them from getting back together again," Marlene suggested and wiggled her eyebrows at Katie. "They did just get paired for that project in Potions."
"If he's still messing around with Mary I'm not getting involved," Katie insisted with a shake of her head. "I'm not trying to start a war in our dormitory this year."
Alice groaned and slapped another wet pile of gillyweed in front of her, "Katie Prewett, I swear if you don't take this opportunity to finally land Eddie Bones I'm going to rip my hair out."
"I didn't say I wouldn't," Katie protested weakly. She hadn't decided if she was going to tell Alice about her arrangement with Sirius yet. "But if Mary is still part of the picture I'm not going to torture myself. I don't need that kind of drama in my life."
"She has a point," Lily agreed. "Mary is right vindictive and Eddie does have a reputation. I know he's fit and all but we definitely have more important things to worry about."
"Thank you, Lily," Katie sighed and gave Alice a pointed look. Why couldn't her best mate be that logical and accepting of Katie's perpetual singleness.
"Yes, yes. We're all going to save the world," Alice laughed but returned Katie's pointed look. "So why be afraid of a good looking bloke? That's all I'm saying."
It was easy for her to say things like that, Katie knew, because she wasn't cursed with an incredible ability to fall for exactly the wrong boy any chance she got. It'd been love at first sight for Alice and Frank and, while her intentions were good, she sometimes wished Alice would just leave her to spend her life as a lonely cat lady and enjoy what she'd been given.
"Well if she can't get it from Eddie maybe she can get it from Sirius," Marlene suggested casually and looked conspiratorially at Katie.
"Excuse me?" Katie stammered, snapping out of her thoughts abruptly.
"Well he was awfully interested in your conversation with Eddie in Potions yesterday," she shrugged and smiled innocently. "It's not like him to care about that sort of thing."
"Who says he does?" Katie demanded doing her best to remain calm.
"He did, of course," Marlene insisted, slightly offended that her information wasn't being taken seriously. "You should have heard him, going on about what a manipulative git Eddie is and how you're too smart to fall for a bloke like him. What did you and Sirius talk about anyway?"
"Er, nothing terribly interesting," Katie lied and felt her cheeks start to flush. She was a terrible liar and she could feel Alice watching her suspiciously. Alice had already interrogated her once about Sirius after she healed him, she didn't need her poking around again until she was prepared to answer her questions. "He just came over to tell me that Eddie is a git and I shouldn't trust him. I told him to sod off. Didn't know why he cared, anyway."
"Right?" Marlene exclaimed and shook her head with a laugh. "Well I'm glad he warned you. It was my suggestion after all. But I'm still wondering what he's up to. He's a bit barmy, that one."
"I couldn't agree more," Katie said dryly, wondering not for the last time just what she had gotten herself into. What was Sirius up to?
"I'm sorry, you're doing what?" James asked tugging on his jumper, freshly showered after practice. He turned to regard his best mate with disbelief written clearly on his face.
"You heard me well enough," Sirius replied and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "I'm going to help her get a date with Eddie Bones."
"But you hate Eddie Bones," James countered as he put his glasses on. "And you don't do generally take an interest in girls unless you want to shag them."
"This isn't about a shag," Sirius argued with a slight scowl. "I told you. I just can't shake this feeling that I owe her for that little healing trick. I figured I could help her out and we'd be square. She was so pathetic with him today, it was depressing."
James was not convinced, "It's not like you to take on pet projects. Couldn't you just, do her homework for her or something?"
Sirius grinned, "What fun would that be? Anyway, she's a smart bird and doesn't need that kind of help. And if I do it right, she'll wrap him around her finger, realize what a ponce he is, and then we'll get the added benefit of watching Eddie and his Quidditch game suffer while he moons over her leaving him."
"You really think she's capable of all that?" James asked skeptically. He couldn't deny that watching the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain squirm was appealing. "She doesn't strike me as much of a heartbreaker."
"Untapped potential, mate," Sirius assured him and stuffed the rest of his practice gear in his locker with a small smile.
"You like her," James realized and it wasn't a question. It wasn't often that he heard appreciation from his best mate about a girl's mental assets rather than her physical ones. It was intriguing, to say the least.
"Don't get mushy on me," Sirius scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Sure, I like her but it's just because she's not an idiot like most of the birds in this school. She's smart enough to hate me. I can respect that."
"Well at least she's got that part right. You're going to meet her now?"
Sirius nodded, "In the library. Our first lesson is about personal space."
James raised a speculative eyebrow, "You don't know what personal space is, Padfoot."
Sirius let out a barking laugh, "You should try it sometime, Prongs. The ladies love it."
Katie twirled the tips of her long brown hair nervously around her fingers as she regarded herself in the mirror. She'd tried on nearly a dozen outfits and still wasn't sure if she'd achieved sexy or not.
She scowled. She wasn't even sure why she was getting so worked up about it. After all, it wasn't Sirius she was trying to impress. And did it say something about her mental state that some part of her did want to impress him?
Bollocks. She looked away from the mirror in disgust. Maybe she was finally going mad.
Ultimately, she'd decided on a simple fitted black v-neck shirt tucked into a pair of high-waisted trousers that hugged her in all the right places. Casual enough to make it seem like she wasn't trying but subtly sexy, she decided. Checking her watch she realized it didn't matter. It would have to do, she was running late.
She grabbed her jumper and rucksack off the bed and made for the common room. If she timed it right, she'd miss Alice and Lily coming back from a group study session for Arithmancy as well as everyone getting back from Quidditch practice. No prying questions and no one to talk her out of it.
Not that she wouldn't have welcomed someone trying to talk her out of it. The more she thought about what she was about to do, the more she thought she could use a voice of reason.
But the Common Room was unusually empty and to her great surprise she made it all the way to the library without seeing anyone that she knew. The library itself was fairly quiet and she just managed to jump behind a bookcase as Alice and Lily left the library with their study group. Step one complete, now she just had to find Sirius.
But he had already spotted her.
He had purposely arrived early and positioned himself so he could watch her walk in. She was very clearly nervous and he nearly laughed when she scampered behind a bookcase like a scared rabbit to avoid her mates. They'd have to work on how she carried herself, he mused. Especially when going to meet with Eddie.
But she had accomplished sexy, he was glad to see. The trousers she had on made her legs look like they went on for days and they caught her in all the right places. Even the simple black shirt drew the eye exactly where it was most effective. That at least he wouldn't need to teach her. Just show her how to use it to her advantage.
When she turned and caught him looking at her, her face immediately flamed and he again had to keep himself from laughing when he saw her get angry over her own reaction. She was an interesting creature. Shaking his head, he waved her over.
She glanced over her shoulder to be sure no one was looking and then hurried over to join him at his table. Thankfully he'd chosen a fairly secluded table in the Transfiguration Section.
"You could have called to me," she grumbled as she sat down. "I thought you might have changed your mind but you're just over here enjoying the show."
"Hell of a show," he grinned and ducked away from her hand when she swatted at him. "Alright, alright. Out of line. Got it. But I'm just being honest. You do sexy well."
This time Katie stopped the blush trying to creep into her face and tried not to feel pleased, "Thank you."
"Anytime," he replied. "You ready to do this?"
She took a deep breath and tried to stem the panic that wanted to climb up her throat. Was she ready for this? Was she crazy? She had to be crazy. She was sitting at a table in the library about to take dating advice from Hogwarts' biggest heartbreaker. So sure, she was ready. Her love life certainly couldn't get worse.
She let out her breath, "Ready."
He grinned and got up to sit on the same side of the table as her, "Right. Get one of your books out of your bag. Today's first lesson is about personal space."
She frowned as she pulled a book out and set it on the table, "Personal space?"
"Mhmm," he replied and opened the book, simultaneously scooting his chair closer to her until their arms were touching lightly. He turned and looked her in the eyes as he deliberately ran his fingers through his hair, "Rule 1. Personal space is your enemy when you're trying to get a guy's attention."
Katie swallowed and tried not to think about the fact that she was about to get up close and personal with Sirius Black. It was all for the cause, she reminded herself.
"Got it," she replied and fought the urge to lean away from him. "Why?"
"Such a good student," he chuckled and ran his pinky knuckle lightly over the side of her hand. It almost seemed accidental but the feeling lingered on her skin longer than she cared to admit. He smiled knowingly. "The things he will remember when you leave are as follows. How you smelled. If you touched him. And how great your bum looks in those trousers. If you don't get close enough to make him notice, you're not doing it right."
"How I smell is important?" she replied and wrinkled her nose in doubt. Obviously hygiene was important but she'd never noticed a bloke literally sniffing after a girl.
He laughed, "Definitely important. Your perfume, the way your hair smells, whatever it is. It'll stick with him I promise. Keep him thinking about you long after you've gone. So keep that in mind, your hair smells great so I recommend you toss it over your shoulder now and then. But the touching part is important too. Just something small and subtle, it doesn't have to be obvious to be effective."
Starting to see the bigger picture, Katie nodded, "Okay. Show me."
"Okay so, scenario: we're leaning over a textbook together getting ready to prep this potion," he began. "Place your arms on the table for better access. Okay, now lean into me like you're having trouble reading the page, pretend like you suddenly realize how close you are to me, look up and place your hand on my arm and apologize. Let your hand linger."
Katie leaned in, feeling slightly silly, squinting at the page. They weren't touching yet but she could feel his body heat and suddenly began to understand the temptation to touch. Gradually she glanced up at him. Their mouths were much too close for comfort and when she glanced down at his lips she immediately regretted it. To steady herself, she placed a hand on his arm but caught herself staring at him as she murmured, "Sorry."
A slow smile formed on his lips, "Nicely done, pet. But don't stare."
She blinked, "Um. Sorry. What?"
"Don't stare. And don't be sorry," he insisted and traced a finger over her hand. She immediately snatched it back. "You did everything perfectly. You felt exactly what I meant for you to feel. You created that physical link with your hand and you get extra credit points this round because the other part you did on your own."
Katie raised her brows, placing her hands securely in her lap, "Which was?"
"You made me think about kissing you," he said simply and Katie's jaw nearly dropped.
"Excuse me?"
"You did it exactly right too," he laughed and nodded his head impressed. "I couldn't have told you to do it better. You looked up. Felt the connection, your eyes dropped to my lips for half a second and then you shook yourself out of it. Textbook temptation. Nicely done, Prewett."
Katie found that she couldn't take that compliment comfortably because she had felt it. She hadn't been acting, but he obviously he had been.
Was it really that easy for people to fake a connection like that?
"What? What's wrong?" he asked. He could practically see the thoughts swirling in her head. "Everything you think shows across your face, did you know that?"
She sighed, "Yes, my mother always told me I had a glass face. I can't help it."
"But you stopped it earlier. When I said you were sexy. You physically forced yourself not to react," he tilted his head to the side. "If you think about it you can control it."
"Easier said than done," she muttered grumpily. She wasn't sure what she'd been envisioning for these lessons but round one was making her distinctly more uncomfortable than she'd anticipated. Or maybe it was just Sirius. She frowned up at him, "Is it really that easy for you to just fake this?"
He could see from the look on her face that it truly bothered her that he could. Perhaps James was right, he thought. Maybe not a real heartbreaker after all. But he'd be damned if she couldn't learn some bloody confidence.
He shrugged slightly in response, "Would it make you feel better if I said it wasn't? The real fact of the matter is it's easy once or twice but it's draining after that unless it's real."
"Which is why you don't actually date," Katie stated matter-of-factly and that, strangely, seemed to make her feel better about it. "You know, you're not as mysterious as everyone seems to think."
Sirius's answering laugh resembled a bark, "Everyone's got their layers, Prewett. Don't be fooled."
He was right, she was sure. But she didn't think his layers were as bad as he seemed to think. The simple fact that he was sitting so patiently at this table with her was proof of that. He put on a pretty rough front but she was sure there was a lot more complexity under the surface.
"Anyway," he interrupted her thoughts and what was also becoming uncomfortable conversation for him. "Let's move on to Rule Number 2. Act like you aren't invested, even if you are."
"Are these rules for dating or rules for becoming a great big jerk?" Katie protested.
"Just listen alright," he leaned back in his chair. comfortably draping an arm around her chair. "Blokes will do this to you every time but they hate when you do it back. So at first, act like you don't care about anything. Ex dating another bird? Whatever. Fittest bloke in Hogwarts thinks you're a babe? That's fine. Oh, you want to go on a date this weekend? You can probably make that work. It will leave him guessing and always wanting more. And most importantly, it puts you in control."
"That's terrible," Katie shook her head. "Are you telling me this is all a big game? Dating is a bloody circus." No wonder she failed so spectacularly every time she'd gotten involved with someone, she thought in disbelief.
He shrugged but shook his head, "But it's not a game exactly. It's tactics, strategy. See, no one wants to date someone who's overly needy. By being slightly standoffish at first, you make it seem like you don't need them. But it gets them thinking, maybe they need you. Maybe you've got something they need to work for a little and they let you call the shots. It drives most people crazy and Eddie Bones is ace at it. But...there's a catch with him."
Katie's eyes narrowed, "Oh?"
"He almost never follows through if you make it too easy on him," Sirius said bluntly. "Shit, I've seen him pass over an easy snog session just because the girl involved was throwing the 'g' word around."
"You mean girlfriend," she responded flatly. "I'm not dense enough to something that stupid."
"When we're done," Sirius assured her. "He'll be begging you for it."
"So what? I just go into these potion sessions and be rude to him or something?" she asked doubtfully.
"Not quite," he replied and picked up a piece of her hair, twirling it around his finger in a way that was thoroughly distracting. "Pretend I'm Eddie. Start a conversation with me like you might tomorrow."
"Er, okay," she replied and shifted awkwardly away from his hand in her hair. "Hullo Eddie. How are your classes going?"
Sirius shrugged and made his voice a little gruffer, "Been fine. Thinking about trying out for a professional Quidditch squad after graduation though so I'm not worrying too much."
Katie had to stifle a giggle, "I don't know if I should be worried or impressed by that lovely impression. But I see what you mean. Okay, ask me something."
Sirius grinned, "So I saw you with Sirius Black in the library last night. What's going on with you two?"
Her face paled a little bit at the question. The thought had never occurred to her that people might notice them together, or make connections that weren't there. But when he lifted a questioning eyebrow, she swallowed her anxiety and stubbornly wracked her brain for the proper response, "Oh him? I was just helping him with a little girl problem he's having. Honestly, for a boy with such a reputation he really is a big softy."
"Hey now," he warned but chuckled at her wit. "Don't go destroying a bloke's reputation now. But very good. Let's try another one. So you're waiting for him in the dungeon and he walks in late, gives you some excuse, but follows it immediately with some line about how he'd have gotten there sooner if he'd known you would be looking so pretty. How do you respond?"
Katie paused, thought for a moment. It wouldn't be right to acknowledge the compliment, what had Sirius told her? Act like you're not invested.
"You know Amos Diggory said the same thing to me on my way here. I must be having a good hair day. Anyway, we should get to work. You'd be my hero if you set up the cauldron for me."
"Oh Merlin," Sirius laughed, shaking his head when she even batted her eyelashes at him. "You're a quick study, Prewett. Bones isn't going to know what to do with you."
"So what do I do after I get his attention with my lack of, erm, investment?" she replied. Sassy banter she could handle. But the follow-through had always been her weakness.
"Unfortunately it's almost nine and Pince has been glaring at us for the last five minutes so that will have to wait. But you did well tonight," he replied and patted her almost affectionately on the arm.
"Thanks," she murmured and pulled her hair into a bun on top of her head before beginning to pack up her things. "You gave me a lot to think about. Hopefully I'll have a chance to practice tomorrow before I meet with Eddie."
"And all alone in a dungeon," Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do and you'll be fine."
"I imagine that list isn't very long," she replied dryly but found herself smiling anyway.
He chuckled, "Touche. Are you free on Friday?"
"For session number two?" she shook our head. "The first Friday of every term is girls night for my dormitory. But you could meet me out at the greenhouses Saturday if you're not busy. Sprout lets me have them to myself on the weekends so no one will bother us. Is 2 o'clock good for you?"
"I'll be there," he promised with a nod and she headed back to the Tower with a wave.
Much later, he would be surprised to find that he was still thinking about her and slightly concerned when that fact didn't bother him...
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