Chapter 5

"Oh Brit darling, you know I'm too irresistible" Sirius Black was once again the centre of attention of the Gryffindor table. His favourite pastime, other than giving Severus Snape, more widely known as Snivellus a hard time, was having a go at Brittany Davies.

He supposed he did this for fun, although it was partly because he was confused by the girl. When they were in 4th year, Sirius had found it quite annoying how Brittany would stare at him, giggle and then blush. Sure, he had been the desire of many and most of them expressed their desire more outwardly than her, but for some reason, Brittany Davies had really gotten to Sirius.

So, he took the suggestions of his friends and asked her out. Expecting her to faint and go all wide-eyed at such a perfect opportunity, he was, to say the least, shocked senseless when a few days later, she dumped him. She dumped him! Nobody dumped Sirius Black; it was only the other way around. He had experienced a dose of his own medicine that time…and he vowed he wouldn't let this girl get by this easily.

She had been the shy, unnoticed type of girl that hung around with Lily and Eva. All three girls weren't particularly recognized, other than Lily as she was the only object to James' affections. He had expected a few jokes and pranks on her to embarrass her in front of the school would set her right…but he had been wrong for, perhaps, the first time in his life.

Her personality took a dramatic turn after their encounter and she was suddenly lively, outgoing and daring. She had turned into the type of girl that Sirius Black admired and wouldn't regret associating with. She had cut her long, flowing blonde hair to her ears, and streaked it hot pink and electric purple.

Not only did she seem unaffected by his constant pestering, instead of making her the victim, he, Sirius Black was made a complete fool in front of the school! She had not only ruined his reputation of being the Godly, irresistible man of Hogwarts, but was the first girl that had ever dared refuse him. He actually wondered where she got the courage to do such a thing!

At first, he'd seriously considered killing her, but after much convincing from his friends, Sirius had finally given in and took things from a lighter perspective. She thought she could outwit him? Well, two could play at the game, and she would lose…very badly. He often fantasized that after she realised he was her Prince Charming, she would come back into his arms.

Why he even thought she could have a chance with him was beyond him. The girl was a menace to society! Sirius convinced himself that he was already bored of the girls that came willingly. It was time for a change…he needed a challenge to amuse himself in. From that moment on, it was full out war between him and Brittany, much to the amusement of the 3 Marauders and the rest of the school.

They would constantly be at each other's necks, much to the annoyance of their teachers. Brittany was a chaser in the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and Sirius had even joined just to spite her. He didn't really enjoy playing the sport that much, and James had tried to convince him to join for 4 years, but to no avail.

But to see Brittany angry, Sirius would give up almost anything. Her rage made her beauty shine all the more, and Sirius often found that he looked more forward to seeing her every day. However, in spite of this, he had continued dating the girls which he held no interest in.

Brittany also changed into a female version of him. She dated guys of disgusting behaviour and besides, they were no where near as handsome as he was. With each guy, Sirius felt more urge to have her by his side. None of the guys she dated he approved of, and he felt distressed as each was worse than the next. He was worried for the girl; did she have any idea what she was doing?

Finally, sixth year, his friends had seen enough of his misery and shoved the fact into his brain: He was in love with Brittany Davies. He couldn't remember how long he'd rolled on the floor laughing his heart out after Remus had announced the news.

To this day, he still refused to believe that he had given his heart to the girl. He was Sirius Black, infamous for charming girls out of their clothes with his stunning looks and his irresistible lure. But his feelings increased every time he saw her, whether she be sad, angry or happy. His mood changed with hers, hell, he was even willing to change himself for her!

It hurt every time he saw her making out with a Rsvenclaw or Hufflepuff. It hurt even more when she pierced him with her death glares. Yet, he refused to listen to his heart and concentrated on how to annoy her. If she hated him, then let it be. The feeling was completely mutual.

Now, back in the Great Hall, Sirius shuffled up to her on the long table and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. He put on his best charming smile and swung his arm over her shoulders. After swallowing a mouthful of eggs, she turned to face him, wearing a sickly fake smile.

"Black, we all know him to be dear, sweet and very sexy. But does anyone know what he's truly like?" Sirius didn't know whether she was talking to him or the rest of the Gryffindors.

Her icy blue eyes held bitterness, yet it tinted amusement behind. The rest of the Gryffindors had all dropped their eating utensils and were gazing eagerly at Brittany, intent on what she was going to say. Even Professor Flitwick peered from under the copy of the Daily Prophet to hear this speech that would surely result in high levels of entertainment. He had always found the little feud between Brittany and Sirius highly amusing.

Brittany looked determined as well as angry. It looked as if she was about to make a long, meaningful speech, but then, after a few moments, her eyes crinkled and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"All I can say, he was quite disappointing as a boyfriend. You know, from his reputation, I thought he would be something more. I was wrong. He was clearly very inexperienced." Brittany shook her head in fake defeat as she made the 'confession'. Then, she banged her fist on the table and held her stomach after bursting into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

Howls went up in the Gryffindor table, and even Professor Flitwick had to cover his mouth to stop the burst of excited giggles that were threatening to escape. Sirius had even been sure that Dumbledore's eyes held amusement when he glanced in their direction.

However, as much as Sirius was used to this kind of cruel treatment from her, his heart still ached enormously at seeing her make yet another joke out of him. He was about to burst into mouthfuls of protest and anger, but decided to take a different approach. All eyes were now on him to see what reaction he would give. Brittany however, smirked and dared him to respond.

Creasing his eyebrows and frowning, everyone thought Sirius Black would crack then and there, but he surprised everyone with his calm and collected voice.

"You however, Davies, were very enjoyable and I had a great time experiencing you…if you know what I mean. After all, you were the one who admitted that we brought our relationship to a step further" With that, Sirius winked in her direction only to be met by another famous death glare, which he had been receiving very frequently these days.

"Sirius Black! Please remove your arm from me or otherwise I will not be able to promise you will ever give birth to offspring again!" There had been another round of shrieks of laughter, but after seeing Brittany in this condition, only a few nervous chuckles escaped.

Sirius sighed, he had once again outwitted the great Brittany, but he felt neither an ounce of pleasure or pride he had felt before. He would have been absolutely delighted in this incident had occurred in 5th year, but now, all he felt was heartache.

Beside him, Remus was shaking his head to Eva, who was smiling gently at being so close to Remus. Peter was feeling as lost as ever as he continued to shove pancake after pancake into his mouth, barely leaving time to chew and swallow.

"He's been in denial for so long. They're so stupid, both of them…Padf―Sirius is just confused because he's never actually been in love. I think your friend is as well…I hope they snap out of it soon." Remus whispered as he held Eva's eyes. The chemistry between the two was clear, and sparks of intensity shot between them.

Eva had to agree with Remus about Brit and Black. It was so cute how they always fought, and Eva was confident that they would soon learn that they were perfect together!

However, at the moment, the anger and hatred was as intense as ever. Sirius was clearly, unwillingly to lose this argument, and his expression turned into one that he usually wore…the one that attracted girls like magnets.

"You know you want me" he whispered with another seductive wink beside her ear.

"I'M SERIOUS, BLACK!" She had now practically flung his arm from her and looked a shade of unhealthy pink. Her eyes flashed dangerously, suggesting that Sirius was stepping in dangerous ground.

He knew he'd probably gone too far, but his mind told him to keep going, and who was he to give up this perfect opportunity to see her angry?

"Come off it Brit, my name's Sirius, you're Brittany, remember. You're not Sirius!"

She looked confused for about a couple of seconds, but after recognition dawned on her face, Sirius knew that he had indeed gone too far. The scene that would occur next would probably be unpleasant and he clenched his teeth ready to receive her outburst.

He received many pitying looks from some of her previous boyfriends, and some girls even shed a few tears for his misfortune soon to come.

Fortunately for him, Lily Evans saved him for she had just come scurrying from the Head Rooms looking very uncomfortable. The colour of her face could give Brittany's a run for her money. From being a little nervous and frightened, Sirius' mood turned into glee. He wondered what she and his dear Prongs had been doing to make her look like this.

"What happened, Evans…someone try to transfigure you into a tomato?" A few snickers went up in the table.

Brittany seemed to forget all about her row with Sirius and rush over to her friend. Eva Milton also abandoned Remus' side and looked deeply concerned with her now, terribly embarrassed friend.

All eyes were on the three girls as they sat at the end of the table, as far away from the Marauders as they could. Lily seemed to be very self-conscious and wasn't making much sense as she explained what had happened that morning to her friends. While Brittany was still calming down, she got very worked again at hearing Lily's unpleasant encounter.

Eva however, shook her head a little but nonetheless, a huge grin replaced her concern.

"You have to admit he's satisfying on the eyes. He's like, completely hot!" She teased.

"So, is it true…all the girls have been saying his body is supposed to be all tanned and muscled from Quidditch. What did it look like!" Brittany squealed.

At this, Lily felt another wave of embarrassment wash over her. It was hardly breakfast and she was already this worked up over James Potter, how was she supposed to survive the day, let alone the whole year with him?

"D-don't be silly! I d-didn't see…I covered m-my eyes up" Lily refused to meet her friends' eyes. Brittany and Eva exchanged highly amused glances and forced her to cough up what she'd seen.

Just when Lily was about to reply, the man in question strolled in. As usual, the sea of heads turned towards him as he made his way to the Marauders area of the Gryffindor table. However, his eyes were solely focused on Lily Evans, and he winked at her, causing a few sighs to echo in the Great Hall, and many envious glances were shot her way.

Lily groaned, and determinedly faced Dumbledore, who was also trying unsuccessfully to suppress a grin. She stabbed at her toast, having lost all her appetite just seeing the guy who she hated the most enter and wink at her.

After everyone had finished breakfast, Dumbledore wished everyone a happy time for their first day of the day.

"Oh, also, the first Quidditch match of the year will be held in 2 weeks time, and I wish everyone the very best."

Hearing this, James hi-fived Sirius, who was still determinedly trying not to think about how beautiful Brittany Davies was.

"We have to work extra hard this year, especially since I'm Captain. We can't afford to lose to the Slytherins…we've whooped them for 5 years running! Okay, everyone knows that the first practice will be held tomorrow evening. Make sure you're all there, otherwise, we Marauders can't promise that something bad will not happen to you"

After he'd gathered the Quidditch team for a few short words, everyone went their separate ways, and James bid his friends goodbye as he made his way down to the dungeons for his first class: NEWT level Potions. He'd also noticed that Brittany kept shooting death glares at Sirius, who was cowering behind him. She'd also made sure she kept the furthest away from him. It made James wonder what interesting show he'd missed that morning.

Their Potions Professor was, to put it mildly, a bit on the beefy side. He was short, around Lily's height, so large that he had trouble fitting through the door, and had an extreme liking for Butterbeer.

However, he was tolerated by most students and was a good teacher in general. His favourite student had always been Lily, and he took pride at teaching such a 'fabulous student' as he always like to put it.

In general, Professor Horace Slughorn was a unique man, whether it be physically or mentally. He was passionate about Potions, and jumped at every opportunity to praise Lily, much to the annoyance of a few other students, especially in Slytherin. He was, however, a perfect victim, and often at the receiving end of many of the Marauders' pranks without even knowing.

"Welcome to the start of a fresh new year and I would like to congratulate you all on making it this far in Potions. I can assure you that you have not chosen wrongly in your subject selection. Potions, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, is a difficult practice and the brewer needs to be passionate, as well as dedicated to the art of Potion making. Some students are naturally gifted in this subject" He cast a big beam over to where Lily was sitting, who smiled shyly back "whereas others need to appreciate this subject more" he frowned in James' direction who looked innocently behind him when he knew Slughorn was talking about him.

He knew he didn't perform to the best of his ability in class, but that was because he found the subject pretty much useless and unentertaining. None of his friends were in his Potions class, and he had only achieved NEWT level Potions to spend more time with his darling Lily. Thinking about her sent more pleasurable squirms to his stomach as he previewed the magical scene that morning in his mind again.

When he was brought back to reality, he heard his name being called out.

"Sorry Professor, I don't think I heard you correctly the first time" James once again feigned innocence and smiled charmingly at the Potions Professor.

He received some odd glances and a few sniggers from the Slytherin area, and Snape looked particularly pleased at his odd slip-up as he fingered a strand of his greasy hair behind his ear. Lily however, rolled her eyes and thought it was typical of him to not be paying attention in class.

Slughorn smiled an equally disturbing smile in his direction that sent his goosebumps up.

"You, Mr. Potter will be working with Ms. Evans on our next major assignment which will involve co-operation and team work. I'm sure our Head Boy and Girl will manage this perfectly."

At this, Lily shot straight up from her chair and was trying hard not to shake too hard from anger.

"Professor…!" She began to protest, but Slughorn cut her off. His face fell a bit seeing his favourite student upset like this.

"I'm sorry Lily, it's Dumbledore's idea" Slughorn chuckled nervously "and to be honest, I'm in a little trouble with Dumbledore at the moment and I can't afford to get on his bad side. Not to worry Lily, I'm sure you'll get along fine with Mr. Potter. I'm sure this will be great practice for you as Mr. Potter and you need to work out your differences this year."

Hearing this, James controlled himself from jumping up and celebrating, but a wide grin spread over his face. He looked at Slughorn who was a little embarrassed at seeing Lily upset. James suddenly decided he really really liked Professor Horace Slughorn. He even considered jumping up and hugging him…nearly.

Instead, he winked at Lily and lay back in his chair which was two seats away from her.

"I'm sure you won't be disappointed Professor, Lily and I will be sure to have the best grades in the class."

After Slughorn had read out the other pairings in the class, Lily, after shooting daggers at Potter who was ruffling his hair, asked him what their assignment would be on.

After inspecting his fingernails for a long time, Slughorn sheepishly replied, while determined not looking at Lily's eyes, the assignment which caused Lily to nearly faint on the spot.

"You will choose and learn how to brew the very complex Love Potion, and…test it together. The most successful couple will be determined by how lovesick they are."

James grinned in glee as he heard the Professor's words. Lily however, stood paralyzed in shock as the words sunk in. She and James would have to take the Love Potion and be in love…it was outrageous! What kind of assignment was this anyway? What was wrong with Dumbledore, why did he have to torture her like this? No! She would refuse to do the assignment. Nothing could make her fall in love with James Potter.

James, after glancing over towards Lily, decided that he didn't need the Love Potion, he was very much already in love with her. Just as Lily was deciding not to attempt the assignment, Slughorn's words cut through her mind, and she finally accepted that she was indeed, most probably cursed, and that her life was over.

"Class, this assignment counts greatly towards your NEWT's, so please do not take it lightly. Your performance here will reflect and influence greatly what you have planned in the future."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A/N: Cackles evilly! I know, this chappie might come as a bit of a shock, but I hope you liked it anyway! I hope you're all in suspense to what comes next! (laughs maniacally again)

I would love to thank all my wonderful, dear reviewers who are my inspiration and thought! I love all of you and hope you really enjoy my story! I have great pleasure at writing, and I hope my work doesn't disappoint you. Thanks to everyone again!

Oh, and please please please review everyone! (threatens to hit you all with a leg of frozen meat if you don't) Lol!

Thanx to everyone!

Purebliss90