The rest of the day went quite well. Miranda managed to gain back her confidence despite the fact that Black was in most of her classes. But thankfully some of the teachers knew the two students' strained relationship, and kept them as far apart as possible.

Sirius did not attempt to start another conversation after what happened in Potions. After all it wasn't his fault that the girl was so damned stubborn. He didn't even want to apologize; James was the one who told him to do it. Black had only made an attempt because the ever whipped James told him to. To be frank, Padfoot was still upset by the incident at breakfast. But he remembered the look of fear in Burgs' eyes when she realized who her Potions partner was. The fact that she seemed so scared and upset by his presence slightly disturbed him, Black wasn't a bad guy just an arse hole.

The fact that he couldn't sleep proved that he was semi decent; Miranda's eyes haunted him as he scowled up at the ceiling. Sirius was derailed from his thoughts by the sound of a laugh coming from the common room. Raising his eyebrows, he looked over at the clock in the corner of the room. It was two in the bloody morning. Who the hell was up that late?

Quietly he rose from the warmth of his bed. Pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms, Sirius opened the door and looked out. From what he could see from where he stood. The fire was still blazing in the grate. Hearing yet another chuckle, Black stepped out onto the landing. Looking around the corner, he found Miranda Burgs sitting in one of the bigger seats closest to the fire place.

Miranda felt relaxed sitting before the flames. Comfortably snuggled into her favorite chair, a new book in hand, and her new pet kitten slumped happily over her right shoulder. The cat had been a gift from her mother for her birthday. Somehow when Miranda was shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley, her mother managed to exchange muggle money for wizard money and bought her Pyewacket a small Siamese kitten with purple eyes.

She was on page fifty of her new copy of "Dexter the Wandering Muggle." Right when she was about to turn the page, Pyewacket smacked his paw down. At first he thought he was simply playing, but the cat refused to retract his foot. Glancing sideways, Miranda gaped; the cat's eyes were moving back and forth across the page, almost as if it were reading. Pyewacket looked at her and removed his paw, giving her the go ahead to turn the page. Miranda laughed. "My mother just had to give me a magic cat that can read, fantastic." Looking at Pyewacket she asked. "You do realize that if you want to read, you're going to have to speed up or we'll never finish this book right?"

Pye purred and rubbed his head against Miranda's forehead. Letting loose another chuckle, the pair continued to read quietly. Sirius observed from his spot on the landing. Still smiling, Miranda tossed her now free hair out of her face. It caught the firelight and shimmered like gold.

The floorboards beneath his feet began to creak, almost instantly Miranda's eyes jumped from the book. Moving instantly to the place where Sirius stood. Jumping from her chair she practically threw Pyewacket from her shoulder; the cat let out an insulted hiss and streaked up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Miranda had her wand out within a mere three seconds. She aimed it at Sirius, her eyes filled with hate. "Try anything Black, and I'll hex you to kingdom come."

Sirius held up his hands, showing he meant no harm. "Merlin, Sti…Burgs you act like I'm going to hurt you!"

Raising her eyebrows, Miranda smirked. "I wouldn't put it past you."

Slowly, Sirius made his way down into the common room. Miranda kept a careful eye on him, her wand aimed right at him. Growing slightly irritated, Sirius put his hands down. "Will you put that bloody thing away? I feel like you're gonna kill me!"

At this, Miranda smiled, she cooed. "You have no idea how tempting that sounds you bloody bastard."

Giving him another careful once over Miranda put away her wand. Relaxing, Sirius snapped. "Do you always hold grudges?"

This caused Miranda to pause as she bent down to pick up her fallen book. Looking up at Sirius she replied coldly. "So far you're the only one who earned it."

Turning on her heel she began to make her way toward the spiral staircase. Pausing, she looked at Sirius. "I can't believe I was so afraid of you, you're nothing but a poof."

She had been afraid of him? That seemed like an overreaction to what Sirius did to her. He chuckled. "You were afraid of me?"

Miranda's knuckles whitened against the railing. Hoping off the first step, she flew at him. She was inches from Black; her loose hair seemed to poof like the tail of an angry cat. Miranda was a few inches shorter; she damned herself for the lack in height. Grinding her teeth, she hissed. "It's not funny; you made it almost impossible for me to walk down a bloody hallway without being laughed at."

Sirius stared down at her, her could see bits of Miranda's old self. Her hair had managed to go back to being curled and frizzed. A single thought crossed his mind. 'She smells like orange blossoms.' Pointing a finger in his face, she continued. "None of what you did was funny. I feel ashamed for letting it get to me in the first place."

Black quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Rolling her eyes she muttered. "You are so bloody thick."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Miranda moved away and went up the steps to go to bed. "I wanted to go a couple years under the Sneaker Scope, so I did a little work on myself this summer."

Black stared after her, so she had wanted nothing but to be ignored. He felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach; it made him feel slightly sick. Looking down, he noticed Miranda's cat skirting around the couch, large purple eyes directed at him. Kneeling down he beckoned to the cat. Pyewacket cocked his head to the side and slowly made his way to Black's waiting hands. Strange, cats normally hated him.

Pyewacket curled into his arms purred happily. Smirking, Sirius scratched the cat under its chin and took a seat on the first step to the boys' dormitory. Seeing a leather collar, he found the tag. Raising an eyebrow, he starred at the cat. "Pyewacket, what kind of name is that?"

As if on cue, Miranda came down the stairs, instead of the robes she had been wearing earlier, she was in a purple tank-top and black pajama shorts. She didn't take notice of Sirius. "Pye, Pyewacket you barmy feline, where did you go?"

Sirius stood up; Miranda froze again, her eyes narrowed. But they softened at the sight of her cat. She walked over and took Pye from Sirius's arms. She looked up at Him, and bit her lip. "Thanks."

Turning she ran, Pyewacket in arms. Sirius watched her as she took the stairs, her scent hung in the air still. Miranda spared one last look at Black before she disappeared into her room. The door closed with an almost inaudible click. Sirius went up the stairs, intent on getting a few more hours of sleep. Five minutes after his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

A few days passed after Miranda and Sirius's encounter in the common room. Since then, Burgs had been sure to avoid Black, in her mind she wanted nothing to do with him. So she sacrificed her early morning reading sessions in front of the fireplace. Instead she stayed in her dorm to read, much to her own annoyance and displeasure. Some of her dorm mates had a nasty snoring habit.