'So, are you excited for your date?'

It was the morning of the first Hogsmeade trip, and Noa and Marlene were chatting whilst they got ready. They were alone in their dorm, as Evans was an early riser and had dragged MacDonald out with her two hours earlier. The date in question was the one Noa had with a certain sixth year Gryffindor called Amos Diggory. He was not the only one who had asked her - it seemed quite a few boys were intrigued by the new Gryffindor fifth year. There had been about six or seven boys who had asked her - including an incredibly short Hufflepuff third year - but she had picked Amos because the couple of times that she had spoken to him he had seemed nice, and he was also quite good looking. Noa glanced out of the window as she replied; despite the fact it was the first week in October, it was a sunny day and looked quite warm.

'Yeah - are you sure you don't want to come with though?'

Marlene didn't have a date - the only guy who had asked her was a sixth year Slytherin who had mentioned he didn't actually want to go to Hogsmeade with her, but to his dormitory instead - and, although they were meeting up later that afternoon after Noa's date, Noa didn't feel comfortable deserting her friend.

'No - I'll be fine! I'll have time to finish that essay for Slughorn before I come out and meet you. What kind of a friend would I be if I came along as a third wheel on a date with you and a handsome older guy!'

Noa sighed, resigned to the fact that Marlene wasn't going to change her mind, before continuing to put on eye shadow. She had opted for fairly neutral makeup, although she couldn't resist a pop of colour on her lips. Noa was wearing a black suspender skirt paired with a short, sleeveless, cream bustier top. On her feet were a pair of black, lace up, leather heeled boots. Noa loved wearing heels; the only times that she didn't feel like a midget were when she wore them, hence the reason why she wore them quite a lot. Her accessories were all silver: a metal collar necklace, thick upper arm bangle and hoop earrings. She left her hair down after curling it slightly to make it wavy.

'What's the time?' Noa asked as she put the final touches to her makeup.

'10:40.'

'Shit, I'm ten minutes late!'

Noa grabbed her bright red shoulder bag before rushing out of the dorm. As she descended the stairs that lead to the common room, she could hear Marlene shout after her, saying that she wanted to hear all the details later. The smile that that comment produced morphed quickly into a frown as Noa walked down the last couple of steps and took in the scene before her.

Sitting on one of the sofas, and looking distinctly uncomfortable, was none other than Amos. He was surrounded by Gideon, Fabian and the Marauders who all seemed to be glaring at him in silence, clearly the reason for his discomfort.

Noa strode quickly across the room, and stood in front of the group with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

'Can I help you? If not, would you mind moving so I can get to my date.'

The six boys smiled at her despite the glare she was giving them.

'We were just making sure Diggory here knows how to behave-' Fabian started.

'-And what the consequences are if he doesn't.' Gideon finished.

'Seriously! It's not like we're going to be doing things I haven't done before, and anyway, it's none of any of your businesses - especially you four!' Noa exclaimed, the last part aimed at the Marauders.

'Okay, first of all you better not let Molly hear you say that, and second of all, we don't want to hear that either!' Fabian said, looking slightly grossed out along with Gideon.

Sirius, on the other hand, was sniggering at the turn the conversation had taken, but stopped after Noa gave him a dirty look.

'Bunch of pussys.' Noa muttered as she walked through them to a rather confused looking Amos Diggory.

'Wait Noa!' James called, causing her to turn around. 'A little birdie told us that it was your birthday on Halloween, so we're organising a little something in the common room after the feast. I just thought I'd give you a heads up so that you can buy a dress or whatever today if you want - I know girls get annoyed when people throw surprise parties for them because apparently they never have anything to wear.'

Noa glared at Fabian and Gideon again, as she knew they were the ones who had told the Marauders, and she had wanted to keep it a secret, for the exact reason James had just stated. She didn't want a big party, not this year.

'Thanks for the thought, but you really don't have to do that James,' Noa protested. Sirius frowned at this comment, why wouldn't she want a party?

'Already sent the invites out.' James winked at her as she groaned.

'Come on Amos', Noa said as she grabbed his hand and led him out of the room, apologising for the unplanned start to their date as she did.

Noa made her way into the Three Broomsticks, looking in vain around the crowded pub for her best friend.

'Noa - over here!' Noa turned to see Marlene waving at her from the corner of the room where she had managed to grab a table.

Noa weaved in between all of the Hogwarts students that were milling around, before sinking into the chair opposite Marlene and accepting the butterbeer from her friend.

'These shoes are starting to kill me!' she moaned, wishing that she had thought ahead before putting on 5 inch heels that morning; they weren't the highest heels she owned but she had been walking around in them all morning.

Marlene brushed this comment aside, intent on finding out what had happened on Noa's date.

'So... how did it go?'

Noa let out a knowing smile that was infuriating to Marlene.

'Noa!'

'Alright, calm down! Despite the bad start to the date that was caused by the Marauders and my favourite cousins, he was charming and an absolute gentleman; he said I looked amazing, held open all the doors for me, showed me around the village and even bought me some chocolate from Honeydukes.'

'But?' Marlene asked, she knew one was coming.

'But he was almost too nice, you know, agreeing to everything I said like he was too afraid to do otherwise. There wasn't a spark or any chemistry. I want passion in a relationship! I want someone who I can argue with and scream and shout at; someone who I can hate so much yet at the same time love with all my heart; someone who will surprise me daily; someone who will never give up on me.'

The girls sat together in contemplative silence for a while, drinking their butterbeers. Finally Marlene broke it, asking something that she was dying to know the answer to.

'Did you kiss him?'

'Maybe...'

'Tell me everything!' Marlene squealed.

'C'mon, we should start our shopping soon; we both need to get dresses for the Halloween party.'

'You mean your birthday party! Sheesh, why are you so against having one! And pleeeeaaaase tell me about your kiss with Amos!'

'Fine!' The girls got up from the table, and headed off in the direction of the first boutique that they could see, as Noa shared the juicy details with Marlene.

Two hours later and the girls were still dress hunting. Marlene had chosen her dress in the second shop, and bought some accessories to go with it in the third one. They were now on the fifth and final clothes shop that Hogsmeade possessed, looking for a dress for Noa. The shop was very small and tucked away in a narrow alleyway that neither of the girls had been down before. It was called, according to the elegant writing above the door, Femme Fatale. Noa already had plenty of shoes and accessories already and all she needed was a dress, but she couldn't seem to find one. She wanted something different from what all the other girls would be wearing since it was her birthday party, something she could dance in, and something that suited her and represented her style, which meant no pastel colours or puffy dresses. When you had taken all that into consideration, there weren't many choices left. She had begun to give up hope that she would find anything at all, but her attitude had changed when they entered Femme Fatale, as there were some very interesting pieces in the small boutique.

They were the only two in the shop, and Noa was currently trying on some dresses in one of the two changing rooms while Marlene reclined outside in an arm chair and gave advice.

The first dress Noa came out in was an extremely short skin tight one shouldered dress. It was made out of satin, in a smokey gray colour that had a hint of green in it when the lights hit the dress in a certain way. A chiffon ruffle that was the lightest shade of grey started by Noa's left hip and went across the dress, over her right shoulder and down the back, creating the one shoulder effect and widening as it went.

'This one fits me perfectly, but I'm not sure about the colour,' Noa said to Marlene, looking at herself in the mirror.

'I know what you mean; it's more suited to a sophisticated cocktail party than your sixteenth birthday - you want something more fun and flirty,' Marlene replied as she looked Noa up and down.

Noa walked back into the dressing room and changed into the next option. Marlene had forced her to try this one on, as it was pastel coloured and not something Noa would pick out for herself. She pulled the curtain of the small cubicle open and the two girls judged the new dress together. It wasn't actually a dress, but a two piece outfit. The top was a halterneck cropped bustier top in pale pink with an abstract ivory-coloured design on it. The skirt was a highwaisted gather skirt that came to mid thigh. It was made up of alternating panels of fabric; the aforementioned and a silvery gold material.

'What do you think of this one?' Marlene asked as Noa pulled a face.

'I dunno, it's not really my style - it's too pretty pretty.'

'Yeah, I suppose so. However, it's different from the dresses that all the other girls will be wearing so you'll stand out.'

'Standing out... mmhm... I've got it!' Before Marlene could ask what 'it' was, Noa had disappeared behind the curtain again. She appeared again less than a minute later, and twirled, showing her new outfit off.

'Noa, it's perfect!'

The girls were walking up to the castle some time later, chatting together about their dresses, how they should do their hair and what make up to wear, despite the fact that the party was still a couple of weeks away. As they entered the castle they noticed a lot of people leaving the Great Hall. Noa interrupted Marlene halfway through her comment about one brand of eyeliner versus another one, with a worried expression on her face.

'Marlene, why is everyone leaving the Great Hall?'

Marlene looked at her watch quickly before swearing under her breath. 'We spent way more time than I thought shopping - we've only got a twenty minutes before dinner ends and we have to drop out bags off at the Gryffindor tower beforehand.'

'Why don't I take them all up while you save me a seat and some food?' Noa offered.

'I think it would probably be better if I took them - I doubt you'd make it back before morning with those shoes on!' Marlene giggled before walking up the stairs at a brisk pace.

Noa looked down at her shoes and sighed, Marlene was right, at the moment it took all of her will power to stop herself from hobbling. She entered the near empty room and sat down at the end of the red and gold covered table, grabbing enough food for herself and Marlene onto a plate before all the serving dishes vanished back down to the kitchens.

Before she had a chance to start eating, someone sat next to her and grabbed a fry from her plate.

'Hungry tonight, eh Prewett,' Sirius Black flashed a hundred watt smile at her and, whilst she was momentarily distracted by his sudden entrance, grabbed another fry.

'You could say that Black,' Noa replied, slapping his hand as he went in for a third.

'So, how was your date with Diggory? That prat didn't try anything did he?!'

'It was fine and no, he didn't try anything. What would you have done if he had - hung him up by his pants from the Astronomy tower?'

'Good idea for next time! He is a bit of a boring idiot, isn't he?'

At the raised eyebrow from Noa, Sirius changed the subject.

'I've been meaning to ask - why don't you want a party? And don't give me some crap about not liking parties because we both know that that's not true.'

'When did you get so good at reading me?' Noa laughed without any amusement, but Sirius wouldn't have it and it was his turn to raise an eyebrow as he waited for her to continue. She sighed, and then spoke again in a quieter tone. 'Fine, I don't want to celebrate my birthday this year because it reminds me of my parents. Every year they would take the day off of work and take me out of school, and we would drive to the beach - no matter the weather - for the day. Those days were perfect, full of barbeques, paddling, ice cream and sand castle building. When my mum died and I went to Beauxbatons I didn't tell anyone when my birthday was, I didn't want a big fuss or anything like that, but my dad would still always drive up the weekend before or after and take me out for chocolate cake. It's not that hard to push thoughts of them out of my mind here, there is so much that goes on, but on my birthday I can't help but think of them. So that's why I didn't want a big affair - I guess it's too late for that now though.'

'Noa,' Sirius said in a voice more gentle than anything she had heard him say before. 'We are your family now: Me, Fabian, Gideon, James, Remus - even Peter. Each one of us would do anything for you. And hey, a party is better than lying in bed depressed, right?!'

His cheeky smile back, he gave her a one armed hug.

'Thanks Sirius,' she mumbled, feeling a lot happier than she had all day. As she went back to eating, she noticed a piece of parchment on the table next to Sirius, filled with scribbles and diagrams in very familiar handwriting. She tried to grab it, but he had amazing reflexes and stuffed it in the pocket before she could.

'What's that?' she asked curiously.

'Oh, that old thing. Just some notes from Transfiguration.'

'Worst lie ever - you never take notes! And why is it in Fabian and Gideon's handwriting?'

'You caught me. It's just the finer details for a little something the twins, Prongs, Moony, Worms and I are planning for the Halloween feast.'

Noa shook her head, she would never understand their stupid nicknames. 'So, what is it, I want in.'

Sirius shook his head in an infuriating way, and mimed locking his lips. 'Sorry Noa, these kinda things aren't for people like you, why don't you just leave it to the professionals.'

Before Noa could start to lecture him on what a sexist pig he was, he had gone, leaving her alone again. Noa was fuming - how dare he say she couldn't do something! She had heard all about the Marauder's famous pranks and, to be honest, she didn't think it was that hard to make one up. She would show them that she could pull a prank as good as theirs, if not better! Ideas came flooding into Noa's mind, but before she could write any of them down Marlene entered the hall and came over to her. She didn't mention any of this to Marlene, as she knew the girl would back out as soon as she heard the Marauders were involved; things were still sore between them and as much as she tried to shove them together they wouldn't even speak to each other. So Noa pushed the ideas to the back of her mind where she could access them at a later date, before turning to Marlene and starting to chat.

It was past one, and the Gryffindor common room was empty as Noa snuck out through the Portrait Hole. She hadn't been able to sleep, and the fact that she was itching to start planning her prank combined with her grumbling stomach - despite the fact she had eaten six hours ago - had forced her to get up on a night-time excursion to the library and then the kitchens. Hanging out with the Marauders definitely had its peaks, one being that by the end of her third week she knew all the secret passageways in and out of the castle, the quickest ways to get anywhere, and where the kitchens were.

She hurried to the library quickly, managing to avoid running into any prefects or teachers. After muttering a hushed 'Lumos', Noa started looking through the advanced charms section, pulling three or four books out that she thought would be useful and help her with her prank before setting off towards the kitchen. She made it there successfully as well. After receiving a cup of coffee and a stack of chocolate chip pancakes from a couple of sleepy - but very willing - house elfs, she opened the first book and started to flip through it, occasionally pausing on a certain page and taking notes on a crumpled piece of parchment she had found in her pocket.

It wasn't until the clock in the kitchen struck four that Noa put the books back in her bag and left, thankful that it was Sunday tomorrow - or today since it was technically the morning - and she would be able to sleep in.

Noa was passing through the Entrance Hall on her way to the Gryffindor Tower when she first heard the voices. Curious, she turned the corner and followed them.

'Damn it! You just stepped on my toe!'

'Well I wouldn't have if you didn't have massive feet!'

Me? You're the one-'

A third voice then spoke.

'Shh - I think I heard footsteps!'

Noa knew she was near to these people, their voices were now quite loud, but the corridor in front of her was deserted. It was almost as if they were invisible. When she heard these last words she knew that it was her footsteps that they had heard and, since she knew she wasn't invisible, Noa dived behind a tapestry where she knew there was a small alcove. After a few minutes of silence, Noa considered it safe to carry on. She stepped out into the corridor again, and was met with a pair of yellow lamp-like eyes. Mrs. Norris. Shit, Noa thought; if the rumours about the connection that the cat had with her master were true then Filch would be here in a matter of seconds.

Noa set off at a sprint, her shoes slapping against the stone floor as she gave up on trying to be quiet - it was too late for that. She got back to the Gryffindor Tower in record time, hissing out the password to a very disgruntled and sleepy Fat Lady. Getting into bed, she let exhaustion take over, with all thoughts of the mysterious voices banished from her mind.

A/N: Chapter three is finally up! Sorry for the wait, I was away for a week in Devon without a computer or any internet connection :/

Sorry that there isn't much action in this chapter - it's a bit of a filler chapter - but next chapter there will be two awesome pranks and Noa's 16th birthday!

I didn't get any reviews last chapter and I was wondering - do people like this story or not? And if not - what can I do to make it better?

If you want to look up any of the outfits mentioned in this chapter then google the following:

Noa's outfit for Hogsmeade: Cher Lloyd Oath first outfit (it's the second pic)

First dress Noa tries on: Selena gomez people's choice awards 2011 pink dress (but I've changed the colour to grey in this chapter)

Second dress Noa tries: Selena Gomez kca's 2012

Enjoy reading and please review, even if it's to tell me my punctuation and grammar are awful!

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