Ch. 3- Plans Gone Awry

Where did I go wrong

I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up

With you all night

Had I known how to save a life

How to Save a Life- The Fray

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The next day I caught James at breakfast since I wouldn't see him until later that afternoon and I needed to give a report of my progress. He was, of course, stuffing his face. It was rather disgusting to watch and I made a mental note to work on that.

"Hey, lover boy, if you've finished swallowing half the food on the table, I need to talk to you out in the hall," I said, not even bothering to sit down.

"Um, okay," He said standing up and following me out of the Great Hall.

"I've gotten Lily to agree to a date with you- one date." I said and his eyes lit up.

"That was quick! It's only been, what, four days since we made that deal?" He said looking impressed.

"Yes, well, you're not quite there yet." I said crossing my arms over my chest. "You are going to have to make this date spectacular because if you screw this up, then you've basically just fucked yourself over. She won't give you another chance."

"Okay." He said nodding. "Should I ask her out now?"

"No, wait until the next Hogsmeade trip- there's one coming in a couple of weeks. Ask her out about a week before." I replied shaking my head. "And a word of advice- ditch some of your more grotesque habits. Such as the way you eat a meals. It's alright to eat as much as you do, just don't make it a public show. And cleaning up your appearance wouldn't hurt either," I added giving him a once over.

"What's wrong with the way I look?' He asked indignantly.

"It's sloppy," I said wrinkling my nose. "I mean, you don't have dress like a pansy, but tuck your shirt in, try to tame your hair."

"My hair?" He asked raising a hand to ruffle it, which I slapped away. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Messing up your hair of one the things that annoys her the most," I snapped back. "Listen, you need to really concentrate on changing things that you think are cool, but annoy everyone else. I mean this in the nicest way possible."

"Okay, I'll try," He said rubbing his hand. "Well, I suppose you want some dirt on Sirius now."

"I just want to know what he looks for in a girl," I said shrugging. "He said that he hasn't had girlfriend yet this year."

"Yeah, that's true. I don't know what it is, but I think he's tired of flings." James replied nodding. "As far as what he looks for in a girl, you're up there, but I dunno. He usually goes for the short skirt, dumb blondes. But lately any girl that's approached him that fits his criteria he's just kind of shrugged off."

"So, what should I do to make myself more noticeable?" I asked.

"Well, physically, maybe roll your skirt a couple of times- he's a sucker for legs and you do have pretty nice ones," He said and I felt myself blushing a bit. "I guess the other stuff you're good on- you're friends with him, can hold a conversation with him, and you don't take his shit. I think you're exactly what he needs, actually."

"Really, you think so?" I asked trying to sound as hopeful as I could. Inside I was gagging at myself.

"Yeah, I really do," He said smiling at me.

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"Okay, so now all we need to do is clean your appearance up a bit and figure out how to hook him," Zoey said as we made our notes over the day. "Oh! We could have him save you! You know, be your 'knight in shining armor' sort of thing."

"You read way too many muggle romances," I said laughing at her. "How shall he save me then? Climb up my hair, kiss me at the stroke of midnight, or slip a shoe on my foot while I'm sleeping?" I added poking fun at her strange obsession over the muggle fairy tales.

"Oh bugger off," She said good naturedly. "And how many times do I have to tell you- it's lose the glass slipper at midnight and kiss the girl while she's sleeping!"

"Well, whatever, how shall it be done?" I replied shrugging.

"Hm, this is a tough one," She finally said, frowning in thought. "We have to make sure it's not too suspicious."

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" I asked and she shrugged.

I sighed and looked out the window. From our dorm we had a perfect view of the lake. The first snow had come already, but the lake wasn't frozen yet. Wouldn't that be the way to get saved, I thought to myself, to have Sirius pull me from the murky depths of the Great Lake. In all honesty, it was the best I could come up with.

"Zo, I think I have a way," I said and she looked up at me. "Wouldn't it be just terrible if I accidentally fell into the lake and I just happened to be unable to swim?"

"But Addi, you learned how to swim two summers ago, remember? You actually caught on rather quick," She replied looking at me as though I were bonkers. "Too bad, though, that would be a great plan."

"Zoey, listen to me very carefully," I said slowly. "You know I can swim and I know I can swim, but here's the beauty of this plan- Sirius doesn't know I can swim. And besides it isn't common for pureblood girls to require that kind of skill."

"You know, that actually might work," She said a slow smile spreading across her face. "Let's work out the details and then call it a night."

"Alright," I agreed and we set to work on it. I could feel the taste of revenge inches from reach and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

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It was the next Saturday when our evil plan was to take place and it as rather good, if I do say so myself. It was foolproof and nothing could go wrong. The week leading up to it I had started wearing my skirt a little shorter, my blouse unbuttoned a couple of buttons. I teased Sirius and just when he thought he had me, I would disappear. He seemed to be going insane about it and that was exactly the reaction I was striving for.

"Okay, so there they are," Zoey said as we stood atop the cliff we always sat on in the late fall and early summer. It was our favorite place on the grounds mainly because it was a front row spot for the most amazing sun sets that took place. Today it was a tool for our plan. "Remember, really act like your drowning. You know, go under and come back up- oh, and once you see Sirius go in, go under for good. Well, at least until he gets to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I said as prepared myself mentally for the icy waters of the lake. "Okay, I think they're close enough- you're sure they didn't see you?"

"Positive, they left the common room before I did and I took that short cut down. I stuck to the shadows as much as I could, but I was here before they even came out anyways." She replied nodding.

"Alright, well, show time," I said giving her a smile.

She crawled back down a ways and then stood up. I turned around and faced the lake, breathing in the crisp cold air of December. I was at the edge of the cliff and the stony waters of the lake thrashed about below me. I thought about the risk of hitting a rock on the way down, but shook the thought. I would be fine, this would be a piece of a cake. I heard Zoey coming closer from behind me and I steeled myself. I saw the Marauders walking by the foot of our cliff, which was where we needed them to be.

"GOTCHA!" Zoey yelled from behind me, which truly did surprise me a bit and I lost my balance and fell quite ungracefully into the lake. Which was good, I suppose- it added to the theatrics of the whole thing.

I came up for breath of air and gasped it in before going back under. Up and down, up and down. I could see flashes of the scene in front of me. Zoey was hysterically waving her arms at me and frantically yelling to the Marauders, who had by this time climbed up the cliff, and were now looking down at me. As I was pretending to not know how to swim, my feet kept getting tangled up in the seaweed beneath my feet. And then just as I saw Sirius dive from the cliff, something clamped around my ankle and dragged me downwards.

I had no idea what had a hold of me, but I hadn't gotten a good breath before it pulled me down and I had blown most of my air out struggling against it. I tried clawing my way upward, but another thing clamped around my other ankle. I was terrified, I was really drowning, and all I could think was how ironic this situation was. I was losing my strength and therefore I was struggling less, I could feel myself drifting away and what I could see was fading. The last thing I remember before completely blacking out was a strong arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me upward.

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"Oh thank Merlin!" I heard a voice from above me say. "She's waking up," It added as I hacked up what felt like half the lake. As I gasped for air I tried to remember where I was, what had happened, and why I was so damn cold.

"Adira," I heard a deep voice from my right say. "Can you hear me?" I turned my head and look up into Sirius' worried face.

"What happened?" I croaked, my voice raspy.

"You fell into the lake, don't you remember?" Zoey asked from where she was beside Sirius. "I was coming up behind you to scare you, only I didn't think you were so close to the edge and then you fell and oh Addi, I was so scared!"

It all came back to me- the plan, how it went dreadfully wrong. I wiped my hair out of my eyes and tried to ignore my pulsating head. I looked back up at Sirius, who looked as scared as Zoey sounded.

"Are you alright?" He asked taking my hand in his.

"Yeah, I think so," I said trying to sit up. Sirius gently helped me into a position in which I was sitting, but most of my weight was supported by his chest and shoulders. "What grabbed me?"

"We think it was some grindylows," He replied wrapping a robe around me. I looked up and saw James smiling at me, relieved that I was okay, and Remus, who was standing next to Zoey. "You gave us a right scare, you know."

"I don't really remember it all too clearly," I said massaging my throbbing temples. "I remember falling into the lake and then the grindylows grabbing me. After that I remember struggling, but I couldn't break free…the last thing I remember was someone pulling me upward."

"That was me," Sirius said from behind me. "We were down at the bottom of that cliff when we heard Zoey yelling for help. You went under just as I jumped in after you. Those grindylows put up quite the fight, but I was able to pull you up. Once I got you to shore you weren't breathing."

"We tried everything," James added from above me. "We tried to revive you with magic and then Zoey said we should try RCP," He continued but Zoey cut him off.

"It's CPR, James, CPR," She corrected laughing at him.

"Yeah, that one," He said dismissively. "Well, we tried it, but it didn't seem to be working and then all of a sudden you started coughing."

"We should probably get her back to the Common Room, so she can warm up," Remus said and Zoey nodded.

"Yeah, maybe even stop at the Hospital Wing," James added but I shook my head.

"No, I don't want to go there," I said firmly, trying to stand up.

"Whoa, hang on there, take it easy," Sirius said pushing me back down. He stood up carefully while still supporting my weight. "We don't want you to collapse again," He added taking my hands and pulling me up.

"Why don't you want to go to the Hospital Wing?" James asked confused.

I bit my lip and looked at Zoey. I had an insane fear Hospitals, both muggle and wizard alike. I had been in a muggle one a few times with Zoey because her grandpa had something called cancer and had to go there to get treatment. There had been all these strange instruments beeping and whirling and it just seemed impossible that those things were what was keeping people alive in the muggle world.

My fear of wizard hospitals went farther back, however. When I was younger and my brother, Adair, was still at Hogwarts, we had gone to a fairly shady wizard hospital- it wasn't St. Mungo's and I can't even remember the name of it. Well, we had been there for my brother. He was fifteen at the time, but he had already decided that he was going to devote his life to Voldemort. In order for him to be eligible to be even considered, he had to go to this hospital that specialized in testing and the dark arts. As I said it was a shady hospital, the kind where purebloods went to get treatments that St. Mungo's wouldn't even consider.

My mother had taken me along, leaving my sister at home with her tutor. I think she was trying to infuse me with as much pureblood mania as possible, because even back then I had been somewhat of a rebel. So, we in the examining room with Adair while his examination was occurring. They poked and prodded everywhere and tested his magical abilities. They tested his ability to withstand the worst hexes and curses, including the Cruciatus Curse. They did some of the most unimaginable things and to this day I can't step into a hospital without feeling trapped. I tend to go into panic attacks if a doctor or nurse so much as looks at me. I saw the pain Adair went through and I remember feeling that if I ever went back that's what they would do to me. Which is ridiculous, but I can't help it.

"Let's just say that I had a bad experience when I was younger in a hospital and leave it at that," I said exchanging a look with Zoey.

"Well, alright then, let's get you up to the tower and warmed up," Remus said and we set off.

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Later that night as I was sitting by the fire I went over everything that had happened that day. While our plan hadn't gone over quite as we planned, it was still effective. Sirius had saved me and, according to Zoey, that showed he cared about me as more than a friend. But I had yet to see that.

It got later and soon I was the only one left. I knew I needed to get some sleep, but I wasn't tired. My mind was working too hard to sleep and so I opted to just stay down in the common room instead of tossing and turning for hours, like I knew I would.

"You're still up?" I heard his voice ask. I didn't need to turn to see that it was Sirius.

"Yeah, I'm not ready for bed yet." I replied as he came to sit down next to me. We were quiet for a few minutes and I could tell something was bugging him.

"What was up with that whole hospital wing thing today?" He blurted out. I looked at him and I could have sworn he blushed.

"I just don't like hospitals or any variation of them," I said shrugging. "I've never set foot in the hospital wing in all my time at Hogwarts."

"Seriously?" He asked amazed. "How did you manage that?"

"I learned how to mend the things if I ever hurt myself, or I would ask Zoey to help me." I said looking back at the fire. "If I got sick she would either get the potion from Madame Pomfrey or I would make it myself."

"That's a lot of unnecessary work when you could have just popped in quick, don't you think?" He asked somewhat amusedly.

"Well, for me it was worth it." I said trying to avoid the issue altogether. Zoey was the only one who knew about my phobia and that was only because I had broken my hand once and refused to go to get it fixed. "I told you I had a bad experience and I would rather avoid hospitals if I can."

"That must have been one hell of a bloody experience," He said shaking his head. "What to talk about it?"

I was on the verge of saying no, when I stopped myself. For some reason I felt like I could tell him. It was weird, maybe because he had told me his deep dark secret or maybe because he would understand in a way that Zoey couldn't. Whatever the reason, however, I found myself telling him of that day with Ade and the hospital and how I've never been in a wizard hospital since.

"Wow," He said when I was done. "Where did you say that hospital was?"

"I'm not sure, probably somewhere around Knockturn Alley," I replied trying to think.

"So, is your brother still a death eater, then?"

"He was," I said looking down at the ground. "He died a year ago in a battle with some Aurors. My mother was devastated, her only son, her favorite child, had been killed. The funeral was terrible, all of my parents' friends came to pay their respects and I couldn't even bring myself to shed a tear for him."

"Adira, that's not your fault." He said but I shook my head.

"He and I were actually kind of close when we were younger. He was about seven years older than me and even though he knew I would never be like him or my parents, he was still my big bother." I said sadly. "He had always looked out for me and although I knew it would all change when he became a death eater, I pretended that it wouldn't. But slowly, he became as cold hearted and murderous as the rest of them. The last time I talked to him had probably been a good two years before he died."

"Look, just because he chose that and changed doesn't mean he never cared about you," Sirius said after a second. "And I know he did, because I remember him quite well, actually."

"You do?" I asked surprised.

"Yes, he was always making sure that you were being treated as you should be at those stupid balls and functions," He said a small smile playing on his lips. "He and I actually got on quite well. He told me once that I was the only boy that he thought he could trust you with. Probably because I was a Black and I knew my manners."

"Yes, well, those manners have gone to waste now, haven't they?" I said laughing at him.

"Not all of them," He replied playfully.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for saving me today," I said looking up at him. "I really do mean it. I don't know what I would have done if hadn't been for you."

"Don't mention it," He said his eyes locking onto mine. "Besides, I can tell a damsel in distress when I see one."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"In all honesty, though, you should know that I was scared that I was too late," He said. "I thought that I-we had lost you."

I just looked at him, searching his eyes. He sounded so genuine and sincere. It was reassuring to know that he did care- I guess Zoey was right.

"Well, thank you again," I said, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. I stood up and stretched. "Good night."

"Night," He responded sounding a bit dazed and off guard. I smirked as I turned and made my way upstairs.

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December dawned on Hogwarts and soon the inside of the castle was decorated festively for the holidays. While our plan had worked, Sirius still hadn't asked me out or even tried to make a move. In fact, whenever I was around he seemed to always be flirting with some other girl. It was rather annoying, actually, but I didn't let on. I merely returned the favor, chatting guys up that I knew would be a threat to Sirius.

"So, you're sure he saw you flirting with that bloke from Hufflepuff?" Zoey asked as we sat in the dorm.

"Positive- he looked rather put out." I replied nodding.

"Well, we need something else- we need more dirt," She said frowning in thought. "Remus told me that Sirius was interested in a girl, but he wasn't sure who it was. He could've just been saying that, but I dunno if he knows more than he's letting on."

"Yeah, James can't think of anything except Lily, so he's pretty much useless." I said shaking my head at the thought of the love struck boy.

"Wait- d'ya think you could sneak into their dorm?" She asked suddenly, her eyes lighting up in a mischievous way.

"Piece of cake," I said breezily. "Why?"

"What better place to dig up some dirt on him than his bedroom?" She said smiling.

"True," I replied nodding. "They not up there right now, are they?"

"No, I think Sirius and James are at Qudditch, which means they won't be back for a while. Remus had to go tutor Peter, so they won't be back for a while either," She said shaking her head.

"Okay, so how about I go up now and you keep watch," I said standing up and looping my bad over my shoulder. "That way if they do come back while I'm there you can stall them and give me some kind of sign or something."

"Alright, let's do this."

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A/N: alrighty, well, there's chapter three. love it? hate it? am I a horrible writer? let me know by pushing that pretty little blue/purple button at the bottom that says review! and for those of you who are waiting for the Sunshine sequel, I PROMISE that I am working on it, but I had to restart it because I hated the way it was going, so yeah between that, school, and work, I haven't had a whole lot of time for writing, but I promise it's coming along:p