Leah Matthews – OC

Title: Girl of His Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own the Marauders, but I sure wouldn't mind if I did. ;P They belong to J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own Leah Matthews and the other OCs. Don't steal, please!

Girl of His Dreams

Chapter Eight: Sirius-ly In Love

Dear Heather,

What's with all the picking on me, huh? Jeez, when did you get so mean?

I'm not sure what to tell you about Sirius Black. He's handsome, funny, smart, and he's so… I don't know, comforting? He always knows how to cheer me up when I'm homesick or something. I don't think he likes me back, though, because he's really really popular with the girls and I'm nothing special. They even said so at lunch today.

You want me to explain how he acts? Well, okay. He teases me a lot, and we play pranks on each other fairly often. And we always, always have laughing contests at supper. It's a game we made where we have to stare at each other, and whoever laughs first loses. I always lose. But I make up for it by telling him I just can't look at his face without laughing, and he pretends to be all sad, etc. It's all good fun.

Just a little bit ago, I almost told him I like him. I know, where did that courage spring up from? I was meeting him by his classroom so we could walk to lunch together, and a girl in our class started hitting on him, so I pretended to be his girlfriend to get her to leave him alone. I wonder if he realized I wasn't pretending… You should have seen the look on her face!

Sirius and Remus are my best friends (besides you, of course) and James is really cool, but he's more interested in Lily than anyone. They're really cool, but I don't have many other friends than that…

There's a Ravenclaw boy named Dane who always asks if he can walk me to class, and Sirius usually plays some sort of prank on him to get him to leave me alone. Sirius has a cousin, Bella, who's in Slytherin, and she hates my guts because I had a friend that was a werewolf. Gossip must be popular here, because everyone pretty much knew why I was expelled and everything! Don't worry, I taught her a lesson, though, and I haven't seen her since. She's one of the popular, rich girls with the posse of mindless clones, you know?

Well, I think that's all for now. I can't think of anything else. I've been studying, and a spell might not be able to help someone with your "condition", but what about a potion? I'm working on it, don't worry!

Best wishes from all of us,

Leah

Leah smiled as she slid her letter into an envelope and signed it with the fanciest writing she could manage. She turned to grab her bag and was surprised to see shoes. She glanced up and, with horror, saw Sirius staring at her letter to Heather. She mentally sighed with relief when she realized that it was folded and safely hidden within the envelope, and smiled up at him.

"Hey, Sirius. You're just in time to walk with me to the Owlery." He didn't return the smile, nor did he take his eyes off of her letter. She grew anxious, her fingers picking nervously at the hem of her vest. "Hey…Earth to Sirius!" She waved a hand in front of his face and he grabbed hold of it, looking at her oddly through warm, silver eyes. After a moment, he released her hand and lifted her bag for her.

"Alright…Let's go." His voice was quiet, and Leah couldn't shake the feeling that he had been there longer than she expected. A couple minutes of awkward silence later, and Leah couldn't take it anymore.

"Quidditch starts soon," she said. "I heard it was late this year. Are you going to play?"

"Yes," he said. "I'm a beater."

"That's cool. I've played once with James, before, but it wasn't a real game. He said I'd make a good chaser."

"I've never seen you fly," Sirius pointed out, "but I'm sure you'd be good at it. You're a fast learner."

Leah blushed and made her way up the stairs of the owlery, shivering once she felt the cold air blowing in from the glassless windows. She glanced outside, over the black lake, and up into the cloudy skies that stretched over the mountains. As she tied the letter to the same owl she had chosen last time, a tawny owl with white speckles, Sirius waited by the door.

"It looks like it'll snow soon," he said. Leah watched the owl swoop down over the lake and disappear from sight, and smiled.

"I'm not much of a fan of snow," she admitted. "Or any type of cold, really."

"You get used to it," he told her as they walked back down the stairs. "The castle is always warm, and the only class outside is Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, but even Herbology is in a greenhouse…"

"True…" Leah felt his eyes on her and turned, only to see him looking away. She blinked in confusion and looked once more down the empty hallway. Suddenly,

"Are you daft?"

"Excuse me?" Leah turned to Sirius, thinking she misheard him, and he was almost glaring at her. She cringed away slightly, and he grabbed her arm, tugging her back toward him.

"Don't back away from me," he said softly. "You know I wouldn't hurt you."

"I know that… I'm not daft, actually."

"I know. That's what confuses me," he said. Leah frowned.

"Well now I'm confused, too," she said.

"You're brilliant," he attempted to explain. "And yet…so stupid."

"Okay, what's your problem again?" Leah pulled away from him and he laughed apologetically, keeping his grip firm but gentle. She glared at him. "Would you let go of me so I can hex you?"

"Just…Hold on," he said. "What I'm trying to say is…you're smart when it comes to magic, but you can't even tell when a bloke fancies you, for Merlin's sake!"

"That's brilliant, coming from you," Leah muttered under her breath. Sirius' grin widened and he released her, walking backwards down the hall and staring at her all the while. Leah decided, as handsome as it was, his smile was suddenly suspicious. "What're you smiling at?"

"You."

"Is there a reason for it?"

"Most likely."

"You're insufferable," Leah said, exasperated. He chuckled and spun, ignoring her questions as he grinned secretively at her. Leah decided, against her will, to be brave as she strode along behind him.

"Did you read anything I wrote to Heather, Sirius?" He slowed at her accusation, and his smile faded slightly as he turned back around and waited for her to catch up.

"'A popular, rich girl with a posse of mindless clones,'" Sirius repeated, laughing. "That is a good way to describe Bellatrix, isn't it…" Leah stopped walking, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as the realization that those were her exact words sunk in. She forced herself to breathe.

"How much did you read, Sirius?" Her voice was painfully quiet, nervous, and Sirius walked forward until the toes of their shoes almost touched. Before she could move, he tugged her into his chest and held her there, cupping her cheek with a warm, long-fingered hand. Leah gulped. "How much did you read?!"

"Enough to make this easier for me," he replied, and swiftly lowered his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. His lips were soft, and moved against hers in a way that made her head spin. She reached up and gripped the fabric of his shirt as he pulled away, somehow afraid he might walk away. Sirius watched her catch her breath, laughing softly against her hair. "I know, I'm that good of a kisser." Leah broke out of her trance and laughed, leaning her forehead against his chest as her own shoulders shook. When her giggles faded into a rather large smile, Sirius kissed her forehead, entwining his fingers tightly with hers against his abdomen.

"Go on a date with me," he said softly. Leah smirked up at him, her previous bashfulness gone as she replied,

"Of course. Who in their right minds would refuse Sirius Black?"

"I think," Sirius replied, stealing another kiss, "it is safe to say you are most certainly not in your right mind…"

"Mm," Leah agreed softly. She tugged his tie and pulled his lips down to hers once again, finding this form of conversation much more entertaining than talking. Sirius, as Leah's hands wound into his hair against his scalp, couldn't agree more.

--

"About time," Remus said from the top of the stairs. He looked down at his two friends and sighed, irritation in his voice. "Now if only James and Lily would open their eyes…"

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A/N: Yay, the next chapter is up! This next chapter is a bit...different than how I usually write. Thanks for reading, and please REVIEW!