Look before you leap.
The first week of school dragged on slower than any week ever had for Mary, and there was really only one reason why: Sirius would not stop staring at her. It seemed as if every time she turned around he was there, looking at her with a pensive look etched all over his face. The first time she had caught him staring was in the Great Hall during the welcoming feast. He grinned slyly and looked away. That night she dreamed of the Cheshire cat's smile, and grey eyes, and a meadow full of wildflowers that seemed to never end.
The next morning classes began and all the professors lectured them on O.W.L.s and doing their homework and keeping up and not procrastinating and. . . . Mary lost concentration after a time, and her mind drifted to happier thoughts as her eyes found the window beside her. A slight breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees, and students with free periods walked and ran about the grounds. She watched as a tentacle of the great squid that lived beneath the lake crept toward a bird sitting too closely to the edge of the water. Mary sat straight up in her chair. The tendril inched closer and closer and then—
"No!" she cried, but the bird was gone, and only a small ripple on the lake's surface showed signs of movement.
"Miss Macdonald!" shrieked Professor McGonagall. Mary jumped, suddenly realizing that she was standing, and quickly sat down. McGonagall, her face white as a ghost and her nostrils flaring, had her hands on her hips and looked as though she had just been hovering over James Potter and Sirius, who both looked quite amused. She could tell they were holding in laughter.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor and detention!"
The other Gryffindors groaned.
"Don't give me that look, Miss Macdonald—If you had been paying attention, you would have heard that inattentiveness, flippancy—"McGonagall jerked her head in James and Sirius's direction, "—and outbursts of any kind will not be tolerated at all this year! It is O.W.L. year! In hardly five minutes, you three have gotten one hundred fifty points taken away from Gryffindor! I expect better behaviour from you Macdonald; you should know better than these two!" She turned her attention back to James and Sirius. "Report to me after class. We will finish our conversation, then." McGonagall marched back to the front of the classroom and resumed teaching.
Lily pointedly looked at Mary and rolled her eyes with a hint of a grin on her face. Mary shrugged, and Lily began her notes again. It took a while for Mary to start listening again, as Sirius and James were both giving her thumbs up and grinning madly at her. They were either proud that she had gained detention or happy that she had taken the attention off them. As a matter of fact, they were probably both. Mary did not return their enthusiasm and instead turned back to the window. She could already tell it was going to be a long year.
A/N: I feel like this chapter is too short, but I just can't figure out what else to write.... Let me know what you think! I really need some encouragement either to write more, go in a different direction, or stop writing....
Also, here's the answer to my question in the previous chapter. The quote is by Einstein, and the rest of it is "for falling in love." Mary tripped and fell into Sirius. The chapter title "You Can't Blame Gravity for Falling" and the actual quote could mean totally different things or the same thing. It could be either. :)