Sirius Encounters, Chapter 4
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed the past chapter, every review made me smile ^_^ On a separate note, this chapter skips a day. We left off on Tuesday and we are beginning on Thursday, the day of the detention. I try and go day by day, but there are some days which are just uneventful, and would bore you to death if I wrote them in.
Thursday, Dinnertime
Narcissa was 3 seats away from Aife, complaining loudly about her evening detention.
Aife realized, horrified, that they did, in fact have their detentions together. It will be terrible, but with any luck Sirius will be with them. Black was in and out of detention, but mostly in.
Then again, they were chatting in Runes, a couple periods back, and he said that he was mainly staying out of trouble. Although Aife had, foolishly, agreed to help him design and execute a prank. Aife made a joke about her being the new James. Sirius profusely disagreed, saying that James was not nearly as curvy. Aife knew he had just been joking, but it still stung a bit. Boys like Sirius tended to be quite sexist, although Aife usually knew better than to take it to heart. Still, she realized her crush on Sirius had been growing without Aife even knowing it.
Miyo and Azriela were arguing about Victor Greengrass, who had left lunch early.
"He already has a date," Narcissa said, playing with her food.
"Who?" Azriela demanded.
Narcissa gave her a haughty look, "Annabeth Snow. Seriously, it's been the talk of the school since breakfast. She's a Hufflepuff though," Narcissa snorted. "And a halfblood. A Greengrass could do better."
Typical Narcissa, spouting off pureblood mania. The entire Black family was this way, Narcissa's sister Bellatrix was infamous while Aife was in her first two years. Thankfully, she had left by Aife's third year at Hogwarts. Regulus a younger male version of Bellatrix. Aife pitied Sirius, it wouldn't be fun to have a family full of bigots. Sometimes Aife wondered about their conversation that night. Would it, maybe, be best to have no family at all, than a family like that?
Azriela and Miyo ceased their bickering and put on concentrated expressions, attempting to think of guys who were attractive and available.
"What about that Gryffindor kid, Remus? It seems Gryffindor boys are gaining popularity around here," Azriela shot Aife a devilish grin.
Aife blushed, and said defiantly, "I told you, we're just friends."
Narcissa noticed the exchange, "Oh, really? Well, dear cousin Sirius is nothing if not... available." She almost hissed the word, punctuating it with a smirk.
Aife felt anger rush through her, but less at Narcissa's attempts to goad her and more because she was right.
"I don't know," Azriela said. "He hasn't been with anyone since Tracy Harper. And that was like a week and half ago. Must be something of a record for him." Azriela and Miyo snickered.
The food disappeared from their plates abruptly, signaling the end of dinner.
Aife resignedly made her way to Slughorn's office taking the longer route. Partially to put off detention and partially to avoid Narcissa.
"Finally, we're all here. Narcissa and Evie." Narcissa's smirk deepened. "Ok, time to go Alihotsy picking. You both have your warm cloaks with you? Good," Slughorn said, eyeing them.
Aife ignored his mispronunciation. He had frequently called her Evie, and after a while she'd given up correcting him. Aife had never been sure whether he did this purposefully, just to snub his mediocre students. Her grades in potions weren't terrible, just very average. Aife actually quite liked the subject, but found it difficult to concentrate on, especially in a classroom environment. She did, however, occasionally brew potions in The Cavern at the base of the secret turret. Aife had a decent success rate, but there had been a couple terrible accidents. Luckily, Aife knew how to self-'Episky' by 5th year.
Slughorn lead them out of the castle gates, but did not curve toward the greenhouses.
"Sir," Narcissa said, "Shouldn't we be going to the left?"
Slughorn looked genuinely confused, "And why would we do that, Miss Black?"
Narcissa fought hard to keep her tone polite. "The greenhouses are in the right wing."
"Greenhouses?" Slughorn looked bewildered. "No, no, we're going to the forest."
Aife's brows shot up and Narcissa looked pissed.
He chortled at their expressions. "Goodness, girls. As Sixth years, I expect you to know that you find trees in a forest. They're not too far in, don't worry. Only a couple kilometers."
"Oh, yes, how silly of me," Narcissa muttered, but Slughorn either didn't hear or pretended not to.
Aife ignored her, but a feeling of dread pooled in her stomach. The forest? During a perfect waning crescent moon? Slughorn was mad.
Apprehension settled over them as they entered the first line of trees. The air had become thicker. Aife was reminded of Halloween. This is straight out of a scary movie, she thought.
An owl cooed, startling Aife.
"Scared, Sullivan?" Narcissa sneered.
"Who can blame me? The only thing here not drenched in darkness is your face. Anyone would be scared."
"Bitch."
"Hag."
"Now, Evie, settle down. There's no need for name-calling."
Aife scowled at being the only one to be reprimanded. Slughorn was by far the least fair of all the teachers.
Finally, they came to a clearing, the far edge of which had a crowd of glistening white trees. They looked rather like birches, except their trunks were much wider and more knarled, and their bark had a distinct pale blue glow. The fruit hung off, looking like small blue lemons.
"Alright, now collect the fruit," Slughurn said, conjuring a basket for them both. "Also any young leaves, or ones which glow particularly bright." Most leaves had a dim aura, but others provided better lighting than the sliver of moon above them.
"Careful not to squeeze it, unless you're wearing dragon hide gloves." He announced, conjuring a comfy armchair and making himself comfortable while the two girls worked. "Even then, the more juice we can get, the better."
The girls both whipped out their gloves, picking the fruits. It was a wearing task, and Aife felt hyper aware of everything around her.
They had been working for an hour when a particularly loud crunch made Aife jump. Narcissa snickered. Aife shot her a glare, amber eyes meeting Narcissa's blue eyes. They almost seemed to glow in the dark.
Creepy fucking girl.
Another crunch and a loud yelp from Slughorn had Aife paralyzed by dread. Slowly, she turned around, hoping to not be noticed. But Slughorn was lost to the darkness. The crescent had receded under a cloud.
Narcissa began to scream, her yells punctuated by sobs, and Aife heard muttering coming from the forest.
Fuck fuck fuck, I'm going to die, Aife thought. Here, in the fucking Forbidden Forest, surrounded by screaming Narcissa fucking Black. There was a rush of limbs, pale and angular, and a loud crunch. Aife's own horrified expression was reflected back at her in a pair of crazed, animalistic black eyes.
Trying not to panic, Aife went for her wand, only to realize that Slughorn had it for the duration of their detention. Hundreds of eyes seemed to peer out at her from the darkness, and glints of teeth and fang glowed. There was movement around the foreground of Aife's vision and she felt a stabbing pain in her arm.
Aife's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.
Aife blinked blearily, sitting up in her four poster. Had it all been a dream? Would she wake up now, and find that she had a detention to go to? Narcissa was sitting on the bed across from Aife, painting her nails. Aife hesitated, but decided not to say anything. Last thing she needed was the entire dorm thinking her batty.
She felt feverish and got up, stumbling.
"Had a few too many firewhiskies?" Narcissa asked sarcastically.
"No, I've been asleep. Don't we have a detention?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just got back from my detention."
Aife cursed and threw on her nearest jumper and jeans. She did not remember going to sleep, which was highly worrying. But the dream couldn't have been real? Although, Aife didn't put it past Narcissa to play an elaborate prank.
She decided, either way, that it would be good to see Slughorn. She had to apologize for skipping detention. Hopefully, that was it.
"Hello, Ainey. Feeling alright?"
"Uh, sir. Sorry, I missed the detention." Aife was surprised Slughorn was still awake, it was already nearing midnight.
"Missed? Do you mean to say you don't remember? Madam Pomphrey gave you hot chocolate while you were sleeping earlier."
"I– what?"
"You squirted Alihotsy juice on your face," Slughorn said kindly. "You panicked, and Narcissa and I had to restrain you and carry you to the hospital wing. Don't you remember?" He asked, looking worried.
"No. I don't." Aife was starting to feel sick, but her stomach grumbled. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, sir."
"Very well, O'Sully. See you in potions," He smiled blankly and puttered around, making tea.
Aife blinked a couple times, and headed for the kitchens, intending to get ginger ale. Possibly a butter beer. Was she losing it? Somehow it was unlikely. Narcissa was most likely messing with her. Slughorn seemed fine, no crunching of bones, like in her nightmare.
Well, at least she had now experienced Alihotsy. Never doing that again, she thought.
Aife tickled the pear, and entered to find a possibly female house elf with cornflower blue eyes staring at her.
"You do not belong here, miss," she squeaked.
Aife felt like Alice, through the rabbit hole. Had she taken a luck draining potion by accident? How could this night be the one and only when the house elves deny her service.
"Could I just get a butter beer?" Aife tried, but the elf shook her head firmly.
"You do not belong he–" she started, but was cut off by another elf. "Here is your butter beer, miss. But Fina is right. You do not belong here."
Another couple elves hurried forward, handing her sweets and pushing her back to the entrance.
"...Okay," Aife said, bewildered. She went back to the dungeon, munching on a pastille and trying to ignore the day's weirdness. The pastille was delicious.
Aife barely made it to her bed in time before she became a ragdoll, completely out of energy. She felt weak, and could barely position herself comfortably before she collapsed. She felt exhausted, and inexplicably hungry, despite loading up on pastries. Her eyelids fluttered shut of their own accord.
Friday
Aife woke up that morning running a high fever. She had come into semi consciousness after Miyo's best attempts to wake her. Miyo had given up after Aife mumbled, "feel... bad" and let the girl sleep. It was now nearly lunch time.
Aife forced herself out of bed, feeling ravenously hungry and lethargic. It felt as though she hadn't eaten in a couple days. But Aife remembered the bleary memories of the night before.
She looked at her reflection, wondering when her skin had become this translucent. The eye bags weren't great either. Her amber eyes seemed more striking, set against all her paleness. Even her hair looked paler than usual, which washed her out even more. Aife briefly recalled those black eyes from the other night, and her own pale, horrified face within them. She shivered, and cast a Tempus charm. There was an hour, give or take, before lunch started.
Aife was tempted to sneak down to the kitchens, but remembered the not-so-warm welcome she had received last night. It was pointless.
Neptune wound herself between Aife's legs, mewling loudly. Aife picked up her kitty and hugged her. She didn't squeeze too hard, of course, and Neptune appreciated being nestled so close to Aife's body heat.
Instead, Aife decided to go down to the common room. At least the common room had a nice view of the lake. Yokslan had come to visit Aife at the common room a couple times. She had stopped after Narcissa had started calling Aife batty and teasing her about not even being able to make friends within her species.
Yokslan had picked up on the negative emotion from Narcissa, as well as Aife's anger, and they bid each other adieu.
The resulting battle of hexes between the two blondes had been ugly.
Aife gazed out the window, enjoying the empty common room, when she realized it wasn't, in fact, empty. There, in the corner, sat Severus Snape.
He looked sullen, as usual, and Aife had a sudden thought.
"You're Lily's friend, right?" she asked him.
He paused from his scribbling, which was barely legible, and looked up. "What answer would you like to hear?" Snape said, nearly allowing himself a sigh. Lily was a great source of contention with the Slytherins.
"Uhh... " Aife was taken aback. "I'm not actually that invested in your answer, I was simply curious. I'd recently made her acquaintance and I'd seen you two talk before, so I was wondering..." She trailed off.
Snape watched her like a hawk. He licked his lips. "Yes, Lily and I are friends." There was longing in his expression. A pang of pity arose in her, and Aife hoped she didn't look like that when she spoke of Sirius.
Aife wasn't eager to continue their conversation, and was about to go but Snape stopped her. "Wait– Sullivan, right?" She nodded. "If you do see Lily, please tell her I'm sorry." A vulnerable look crossed his face, but he shut it down almost immediately. The boy looked rather like an underfed vulture, and the greenish lighting of the common room did nothing for him.
Aife nodded again, and left the common room. House elves be damned, she was going to get some food.
Sirius activated the map, watching all the dots move. It reminded him of muggle arcade games. A muggle girl had taken him out over the summer. Sirius suspected she guessed he was a wizard, especially since she'd called him a "pretty alien boy" a couple times. It was a happy memory, of the arcade. But Sirius couldn't fully enjoy it because of what Bella had done to the girl. Sirius still didn't know if she was in St. Mungos, or a muggle hospital. Possibly dead.
Free periods gave him too much time to think, he concluded. Especially when James wasn't around.
He took his mind off his family, as he so often did, by tracking down Aife's dot. She wasn't in a classroom. In fact, she looked to be heading down the second floor corridor, which lead to the kitchens.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, but decided to follow her anyway. He arranged in hair in a nearby mirror. A slight pout graced his features. He felt childish to even think it, but the words "Why doesn't she like me?" floated to the forefront of his mind.
Shaking his head like a wet dog, he left for the kitchens. Sirius felt only a tiny bit creepy for kinda-stalking the girl.
He got there just as she tickled the pear. Sirius had been very confused by the actions of Aife's dot. She had paced outside of the kitchens for a while, then stood out front, seemingly debating whether to eat. He could understand the behavior if she was chubbier, but the girl was thinner than most.
"Oh! Sirius," she said as the painting opened.
"Fancy meeting you here, hmm?"
"Yeah," Aife blushed slightly.
"Food?"
"Sure, though the house elves were a bit odd last time."
"Odd, how?" Just as the words escaped Sirius's lips, he was greeted by a large group of house elves.
"Miss Sullivan is not welcome." A couple shouted squeakily, and the others took to paraphrasing it.
"Why?" Sirius said, while Aife simply sighed.
"They did the same thing last time," she muttered. "I'm damn hungry. Some witches' helpers you are."
The house elves' expressions ranged from angry to deeply upset. "Ah," said an old elf, with a long stick of a nose, "But Miss is no witch. Miss's kind isn't welcome here."
Aife blanched. "My kind?"
"Yes!" the elf said firmly, and the little ocean of elves pushed her out of the door again. Sirius followed.
"That was very odd," he said thoughtfully. "I've never seen them turn anyone down."
"Not even muggleborns?"
"Definitely not," Sirius said firmly. "Besides, what're you asking that for, you're obviously not a muggleborn. You're a Slytherin."
"Well," Aife said, not sure if now was the right time to tell him. Aife decided to just do it. It felt so frustrating, not telling anyone, and she knew Black would keep her secret. After all, he had told her about his own family.
"The orphanage I grew up in was actually a muggle orphanage. I had no clue about magic until I started developing signs of it myself." Aife had said it in a rush, as if her tongue would give out any second.
"That explains a lot, actually," Sirius stopped playing with the piece of thread at his sleeve and looked up at her. He gave her a soft smile, and Aife felt gooey. "Don't worry," he added, "your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Of course. Now, how about I get us some food?"
Aife returned his grin, and Sirius returned minutes later with dishes of roast chicken and mash, as well as a dish full of sandwiches.
Aife raised an eyebrow at the full plate.
"I wasn't sure what you liked," Sirius said, slightly sheepish.
They carried their food into a nearby empty classroom, stealing the two teachers' chairs for themselves.
"So that is odd. Why do you think they suddenly won't let you in?" Sirius asked, between bites of food.
"I'm not sure. I've had a weird couple days though," Aife gingerly unwrapped her plate. Before Sirius could ask her to elaborate, she sniffed loudly, saying "This doesn't smell quite right. Do you think they knew it was for me?"
"Nah, house elves wouldn't dare mess with food," Sirius said, though he looked dubious. "Here let's switch."
Aife sniffed at Sirius's food, but it smelled much the same way. She wrinkled her nose.
"Still not doing it for you, eh?" he said.
Aife felt faint. "I think... I think I'm going to lay down," she said, laying down right there on the classroom floor. She just felt so weak and hungry.
"Aife?" Sirius said, concern lacing his voice. "Are you alright?"
But Sirius's voice seemed as though it were coming from under water.
"Aife?" He leaned over her, his face inches from her's.
"Hungry..." she said. A shiver crept up Aife's spine and all she could hear was Sirius's pulse, matching her own almost exactly. She had no clue what made her do it, but she snapped her mouth to his neck.
Sirius let out a moan, which turned into a yelp as a pair of fangs descended into his neck. Sirius's thoughts went from "Yes!" to "What in the bloody fucking hell?" to "This feels amazing."
Aife felt euphoria as the blood coursed through her. Her hunger abated a bit and she came to her senses. With a great deal of effort, Aife pulled back from Sirius's throat.
Sirius had been shivering. Instinctively, she licked the bite her teeth had made.
Sirius looked at her with a mixture of awe and horror. "You're a vampire."
"Am I?" Aife asked. "Cool!" Aife wasn't sure if being a vampire was anything like it was in muggle literature, but if she had super strength and speed, sucking blood would be so worth it.
"You just drank my blood," Sirius said, still dazed.
"Uh... I'm sorry. I don't think I took more than a litre, and you have five of those, well now four, so you should be good. I am sorry though, if you want I can help you to the hospital wing."
Aife and Siris were both in shock.
"I just got blood sucked from my neck by a vampire," Sirius said, exhaling every word as though it were heavier than air. "Who happens to be the girl I like."
Aife blinked, processing the last bit. That felt nice to hear. Aife had hoped, albeit foolishly, that Sirius liked her. She still wasn't going to go through with something as idiotic as a relationship with Sirius Black. Although, Aife supposed it was the least of her concerns, as she had just sucked his blood.
"I'm really sorry, Sirius. Please, don't tell anyone," Aife said. Sirius looked at her with suspicion in his eyes. Aife burst into tears. They weren't so much for grief as they were for shock. She was a vampire. A bloody vampire. No pun intended.
"It's um... it's alright. I won't tell anyone. Don't worry about it," he said shakily.
"Right. Thank you. I really am sorry, I just had no clue that would happen. It was instinct." Aife gestured to his neck, but all that was left were light bruises that passed for hickies and two nearly invisible marks where her fangs had descended.
Aife reached up to touch her incisors. They felt sharper than normal, for sure, but they were her usual size. She suspected the lengthened during the... feeding process.
Then she thought of something. "But I'm alive. You can hear my heartbeat."
Sirius took her pulse, and Aife suppressed yet another shiver as his fingers touched her neck.
"No, I don't feel it. Perhaps it went away now that you've drank human blood. That was your first time, right?"
Aife nodded numbly. She had no pulse. She was dead.
Aife tried desperately to find her pulse, but Sirius had been right. She shook herself, and told herself that she now had cool vampire powers. It was worth it.
"So, am I like, super strong now?"
Sirius frowned. "No, I don't think so. Though you should be able to turn invisible at will, and see well at night. The sun will turn you to ash though, according to legend, but there are spells that protect against it." Sirius gave a large sigh. "I can't believe this is fucking happening. How did you even become a vampire."
Aife took a few minutes to recount everything that happened in the past two days.
"Whew. I'll bet you anything Narcissa bit you. I always thought she was a vampire," he said, with a humorless laugh. "So how do you feel about it?"
"Feel about what?"
"Being dead?"
"Oh. It's... interesting? No, I don't know. I really, honestly have no bloody clue." Aife inhaled a large breath. "It's a bit sudden, I suppose."
"Well, I can tell you something, if you promise to keep it a secret. It might make you feel better. A secret for a secret?"
"Okay," Aife said hesitantly.
"I'm an animagus."
"You're a– Wai– Really?" Aife said, her words tumbling over one another in the rush to escape her mouth.
"Really," he grinned. Then, after looking around for passing people, Sirius proceeded to turn into a great black dog.
He nudged Aife's cheek with his wet nose and then turned back.
"Woah. Honestly I feel like that's almost weirder than being a vampire."
"Blimey, you really know how to make a bloke smile, don't you?"
Aife gave Sirius an abashed grin.
"I suppose I do," she said, after he returned the smile. "That is incredible, though. I've always wanted to turn into a cat."
"Yeah, but then we'd hate each other. You know, the eternal dog and cat rivalry?"
"Stop stereotyping animals," Aife swatted his arm jokingly.
"And magical creatures. It's not your fault you're a blood sucking creature of the night."
"No," she sighed. "I suppose it's not."
"Do you suppose you'll tell anyone?"
"No, not besides you. Who else do I have to tell?" Aife said.
Sirius felt a warmth at that. It felt good to be someone's confidant. Especially when that someone was a pretty girl. Blimey, didn't he say earlier that he liked her? Ah well, might as well go ahead with it. He shouldn't push it too much though, having her as a friend was nice, and he wouldn't want to botch it up like James.
"I'm flattered."
"I need to find someone to snack on, though. I think I can eat some foods, I'll have to check the library. Pastries were yummy the other night, but I also hadn't officially died yet then. At least I don't think so."
"I think vampires can eat sweets. Why else would Honeyduke's sell blood-flavoured lollipops?" Sirius said, looking thoughtful.
"Nice, although I'm going to have to use my new vampire stealth when I buy them. I also gotta look for a spell that'll help with the sun. Or else I'll be dead in Herbology. Literally." Aife would be very upset if she couldn't see sunlight again.
"Well... I suppose I could be your 'snack' as you put it. You're buying all the blood replenishing potions, mind you. I'm not walking around 1/5 empty. How often do you think you'll have to feed anyway?"
"You'll do it? Thank you, Sirius." Aife gave him a hug. She pulled away a little too quickly, blushing slightly. Great, she thought. I'm undead and yet I still blush.
"Mhm." He gave her a warm smile. "On one condition."
Aife frowned for a second and said, "Name it."
"You'll go with me to Slughorn's Halloween Party. He's insisting that I come and there'll be some interesting people."
"Yeah, alright. That doesn't seem too bad." She cracked a grin.
"Brilliant. I'd ask you to the Halloween Ball, but I already have a date."
Did Aife imagine his disappointed tone? She felt a small curl of envy in her stomach, but shoved it away. Aife reminded herself that she wasn't going to be one of Sirius's girlfriends.
"It's alright, I'll probably be able to find someone."
Sirius looked as though he wanted to say something, but held his tongue. "I'm sure you'll find a great date." He forced a grin.
Aife did the same.
The lunch bell rang and the castle became significant louder, as the babble of hundreds of students blended together.
"Well, we'd better get to lunch." Sirius touched his neck.
"I can fix that," Aife said, glad to be of some help. "Episky!"
Sirius's bruise didn't budge.
"Huh. That's never failed me before."
"It's probably because it's dark magic. Vampirism falls under black magic."
"Oh, how fitting." Aife smiled to herself. "I have a scarf, though. I can spell it into non-Slytherin colors."
"Alright."
Aife dug the scarf out and turned the green stripes black. "There you go. House-neutral."
"Hold on," Sirius said, taking the scarf. "In the spirit of the holidays," he tapped the scarf with his wand and the silver stripes turned orange. He cast an Engorgement Charm, and slung the scarf around his neck.
"How do I look," Sirius asked.
"Marvelous."
"Excellent."
Many heads turned their way when Sirius and Aife entered the Great Hall.
Aife realized that she would actually rather sit with the Gryffindors than see Narcissa. Lily waved to her, and Aife decided this was best.
Sirius was pleasantly surprised when Aife headed to the Gryffinfor table. He sat down across from Lily and Aife, next to a couple fifth years, one of whom was a Gryffindor beater.
"Hey," Lily said, giving Aife an easy smile. "It's nice to see you. You gave me lots of ammunition against James. Now, whenever he bothers me, I just bring up rubber chickens. Works like a charm." Lily smiled at her own pun.
"Nice," Aife smiled. "I'm glad he still remembers."
"So, how come you aren't sitting with the Slytherins? Not that I mind, of course!"
"Eh, too many unpleasant people. Miyo isn't even there yet, so there's really nothing for me there."
"Mm, I get that."
"Speaking of unpleasant people, Severus Snape wanted me to tell you he's sorry."
Lily looked irritated. "Yes, well, he was, indeed, very unpleasant the other night. We were arguing yesterday. He asked me to take a walk around the grounds with him, around curfew. Anyway, he was spewing out this rubbish about Voldemort not being as bad as everyone thinks. Like misunderstood, and all. I got pissed, told him where he could shove it. And you know what he said?"
"Hmm?" Aife asked. Lily was getting a bit heated now. Sirius and the fifth years had tuned in to listen, as well as a 6th year girl a couple seats away from Lily.
"He said I should be taken by whatever's in that Chamber. And then he storms off into the forest," Lily finished dramatically.
"What a bastard. I'm sorry," Aife offered her condolences, but wasn't really sure if she meant it. After all, Lily had made an idiotic decision by being friends with Snape. The guy was a creep.
"Perhaps I out to teach old Snivelly a lesson?" James Potter said, coming up from behind Lily.
"You're as big a bastard as he is," Lily said angrily. "Seeing as what you did to Aife."
"Right. Actually, about that," Potter ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, for everything. But especially the quidditch match. I'm sorry about that. But, after what you did, I consider it square."
Potter stuck out a hand for Aife to shake.
"Very well." She grasped it, albeit suspiciously. "A ceasefire."
Potter grinned. It was a nice grin, but it wasn't as nice as Sirius's.
Potter turned to Sirius. "I've been a tosser. I'd like to be friends again."
Remus Lupin, who sat a bit down the table, gave James an approving gaze.
"Ahh... alright. I suppose, since you've apologized to Aife and all then we can be friends. You're still a huge tosser, though."
"Fair enough."
A/N: Aww, wasn't that a warm and fuzzy ending? Well, I could probably do better, but there you have it. In 6th year, James is still, very much, a tosser. I envision him, in terms of personality, as a kind of Harry/Draco hybrid. With Harry's courage, obviously. Also, what did you think of that plot twist? Please please tell me in reviews! :*) please
Word count: 5,071
edit: I realized this has more typos then I'd like, so I'm just doing a morning-after reupload: now with less typos!