"Watch the match with me today."

Corinne turns to Sirius. "Oh, hello to you too, Sirius," she says crisply. "Why yes, it is a lovely day!"

Sirius smiles at Corinne's chastisement of his ill manners. "Hi Corinne, I hope you're well. Would you like to watch the match with me today?"

"Thank you," she says, "but I was going to spend the day in the library studying for NEWTs."

"Ravenclaws," Sirius says, shaking his head. "Can't you do it tomorrow?"

"I am. I was going to use both days to study."

"So that means you can spare a few hours today, right?"

"No-"

"I'll make you a deal. If you watch the match with me I'll study with you for the rest of the day."

"What makes you think I want you to study with me?"

"Well, I am the top of our year so you would benefit from my expertise," Sirius grins.

"You're so arrogant."

"Oi, come on, Corinne, you're not actually upset, are you?"

"I'm stressed out with school work and NEWTs coming up-"

"That's all the more reason to have some fun. I'm not taking no for an answer. We're going to eat breakfast and watch the match and just relax, okay? Then after that's over we'll go to the library and spend the rest of the day studying."

"Sirius-"

"Your arguments are invalid."

"You haven't even heard them-."

"I don't have to."

Corinne pulls out of his grasp forcing him to stop. "I'm not joking, Sirius. I have a lot of studying to do. I don't want to w-"

"C-"

"Let me finish a damn sentence!"

"Go on then," Sirius says coolly.

"As I was saying, I have a lot to do and I don't want to watch the match."

"That's fine. I'll see you around, Johnson."

Corinne rolls her eyes and stalks off in the opposite direction. It's been a while since she and Sirius last fought so this was long overdue. Their arguments aren't a new occurrence, but what is new is this guilty, uneasy feeling in her chest. She pushes that aside and hurries to catch up with her friends.

"What did Sirius want?" Steven asks when she reaches them.

"Nothing, we got in a fight."

"Surprise, surprise."

"Are you watching the match with us?" Jenna asks.

"Not you too! No I'm not going, is that okay with everyone?"

"Don't snap at me," Jenna says. "I haven't done anything to you."

Corinne takes a deep breath. For some reason, Jenna is one of the few people who can put her in her place. "I know, I'm sorry, my fight with Sirius has me a little riled up."

"I'm over it. Let's just go to breakfast. But if you two fought because you snapped at him like you did with me, you probably owe him an apology."

Corinne rolls her eyes but the guilt in her chest suggests that Jenna might be right. She scarfs down a quick breakfast and leaves the Great Hall when Sirius and his friends do. She hurries after him and calls his name. "Sirius!"

Either he ignores her or he can't hear her. Corinne runs after him even though her rational side is telling her to let him be angry. "Sirius!"

He speaks to his friends briefly and they continue walking while he stops to wait for Corinne. "You didn't have enough yelling before? You want to take out your frustrations on me some more?"

"You know what? I was actually going to apologize, but forget it now! I don't apologize to self-righteous gits!"

"How am I being self-righteous?"

"Anyone would snap when they aren't allowed to finish a bloody sentence! Yes, maybe I shouldn't have yelled but you're not completely innocent in this either!"

Sirius takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. "I don't want to fight you, okay? You're right and we're both sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude, it's just . . . it's you, Corinne! You're so uptight and you don't even realize it."

"I am not uptight!"

"No, listen," Sirius says, lowering his voice so passersby stop staring at them. "I'm not trying to be mean, but you are. I understand that you have a heavy course load and I know that you study a lot, I mean, you're in Ravenclaw for a reason, but what I was trying to get you to see is that you need to balance out work with fun."

"I'm not like you, Sirius! I don't have the fortune of being the top of the class without studying."

"That's just it, though. I'm not saying you shouldn't study, I'm saying you should take some time to relax."

She crosses her arms and stares at him defiantly. "Life isn't all fun and games."

"But it shouldn't be all work either! Yes, good marks are important, but so is being alive. We work hard in school so we can get a good paying job because we think that we'll start enjoying life once we have money but all that'll happen is you'll wake up old one day and wonder if it was all worth it, and it's not because no amount of money will make you seventeen again. So enjoy your life now."

"And going to the match is having fun?"

"This is bigger than the match, Corinne. Yes, I want you to come with me, but I'm talking about more than this match today. I mean in general."

"You're right," Corinne says, mostly to get him to stop talking. "Okay, fine. Is your deal still on the table?"

"Sure."

"Then let's go down to the Quidditch Pitch."

They find good seats next to the other Marauders and the seventh year Gryffindor girls, but Sirius focuses most of his attention on Corinne, James, or the match. "Come on, Lynch, you can do better than that!" he shouts at the Hufflepuff beater.

"He can't hear you," Corinne tells him.

"Course he can't, but it doesn't stop me from yelling. Try it, it's fun."

"No, what would I yell?"

"Anything. How about, Someli, you idiot, you're supposed to dodge the bludgers, not run into them!" Sirius yells at the chaser who just got hit in the gut.

Corinne laughs but nonetheless lets out a shout of her own. "Go Hufflepuff!"

"That's a start," Sirius nods in approval.

Corinne's cheeks are flushed and her eyes dance with more excitement and freedom than he's ever seen. It makes her beautiful, though he shakes that thought from his mind and refocuses on the match before him.

OoOoO

"That was really fun," Corinne says as she struggles to reach a book on one of the library shelves.

Sirius reaches up and easily slides the book off the shelf. "You're quite short, but yes, that was fun."

"I'll have you know that I'm of average height for a girl. You just happen to be tall."

"Keep telling yourself that," Sirius grins as they reach an isolated table in a corner of the library. "So where do you want to start?"

"Potions," Corinne says right away. She pulls out scrolls, ink, and a quill. She unravels one of the pieces of parchment while Sirius unrolls another.

"What's all this?" he asks, frowning at the page full of charts and tables half filled with neat, even writing.

"It's straightforward, isn't it? Each table is labeled clearly."

"That's not what I meant. I meant, blimey, is this how you really study?"

"Are you saying you don't? How do you study?"

"I don't. I mean, I reckon I do, but not like this. I just read and everything kind of . . . sticks."

"I envy you," Corinne says, shaking her head. "Normal people have to work harder than that. We don't all have the fortune of being as intelligent as you are."

"That's probably the closest you've ever come to complimenting me."

"You should commemorate this moment then because it isn't like to happen again."

"I will treasure it in my heart forever."

"Oh bugger off. Okay, since you're a genius and all, help me fill in these charts. We'll start with the one in your hand."

"Right, so this one is, reading across the top, potion name, ingredients, equipment, uses, and difficulty level. You've written down quite a few potions. Blimey, there are potions on here from first year!"

"NEWTs are cumulative; we have to know everything."

"I'm not arguing. I'm just amazed at your meticulosity."

"That isn't a word."

"Meticulinity?"

"Nope."

"Meticulousness?"

"Sirius, can we focus on what's important here?"

"Right, sorry. Okay, so a sleeping draught . . ."

They spend a couple of hours filling in Corinne's numerous potions charts. Corinne was shocked at how much Sirius was able to fill in from memory. At first, Corinne would rifle through her notes and textbook to verify Sirius' answers.

"Would you trust me, already? I'll tell you if I'm not sure about an answer," Sirius told her once he was annoyed.

"It's not about trust. I know you wouldn't lie about it, but you might have remembered it wrong and I just want to be sure," Corinne told him while flipping through Advanced Potion-Making looking for the section on Everlasting Elixirs.

Sirius stopped her by placing his hand over hers. "Corinne, trust me, please."

Corinne looked at their touching hands and then up at his grey eyes. She realized why so many girls were attracted to him; his eyes, his face- everything about him drew people in. The intensity of his stare flustered her for a second. "I-I do."

"Then prove it. Close the book."

Corinne snapped the book shut and used the distraction to clear her head. "Okay, there. I'll only open it if you say you aren't sure about something."

"Thank you."

After they filled in the last chart, Sirius dropped his quill and stretched. Corinne looked at her charts and then stared at Sirius with a frown on her face.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Sirius asked when he noticed her gaze.

"It's just . . . you're quite brilliant. I would have spent all night working on this if you hadn't been here."

"If that's your way of saying thank you, then you're welcome."

"Thank you," she smiles.

"So what's next?"

"I don't know. Did we miss dinner already?"

"You realize it's close to eight, right?"

"What? Are you sure?"

"Positive," he says, showing her his watch.

"But I'm so hungry!" she whines.

"I have an idea. Follow me."

"I should know better than to ask questions, huh?"

"You're learning," he grins. "I'll carry your bag- bloody hell, what do you have in here?"

"Well, I knew you would offer to carry it for me so I loaded it with rocks," she grins cheekily.

"That's alright, I'm so strong I barely feel it."

"Right," she laughs.

They end up in the kitchens, where Sirius asks the house elves for some food. They rush around bringing a tray laden with turkey, roasted potatoes, pumpkin juice, treacle tart, and more food than either of them could ever hope to finish. Sirius and Corinne sit on a table off to the side to enjoy their feast.

"This was one of your best ideas yet."

"What are you talking about? All of my ideas are great," Sirius says.

"Right," Corinne laughs, "because everything you do is great."

"You're catching on," he grins.

OoOoO

"I need the map for a second. Where is it?" Sirius asks no one in particular.

"On my trunk," Remus says. "Why d'you need it?"

"Just to see where Corinne is."

"Again? You spent all of yesterday with her."

"I don't see your point," Sirius says distractedly. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he mutters under his breath.

"I think what Worm is trying to say is that you seem to be spending a lot of time with her. It would make one wonder if this goes deeper than friendship."

"I dunno. I reckon it might."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean . . . I don't know. I think I fancy her."

"Really? Her?" Peter asks skeptically.

"Yes her, you prat. Don't look at me that way, I'm not mad."

"We're not saying you're mad, Padfoot, it's just . . . unexpected," James tells him. "Why her? You've hated her for so long, why the sudden change?"

"It isn't sudden. When we had the mishap with the time travel, we spent a lot of time together. We fought a lot at first but after a while we started getting along. Mind you, we still fought loads, but I started warming up to her. Then we became friends somehow, and it all went from there."

"Yeah mate, we get the friendship, but for you to fancy her?"

"Yeah, she's not cute."

"Be fair Wormtail, she's pretty enough," Remus says, always the mediator.

"She's beautiful. Her eyes, her smile . . . I know she isn't what I would normally choose, but it's more than her looks. It's the way she challenges me and isn't afraid to disagree with me. She doesn't fawn over me, or try to please me all the time. She's also strong. It surprised me how she handled finding out that McLaggen is a bleeding cheater. She's her own person, confident and sure. I think that's one of the things that makes her so attractive, her confidence. She knows she isn't a thin, gorgeous model with flowing hair and flawless skin, and she's okay with that. No Worm, I'm not saying she's ugly, I still think she's beautiful but . . . bugger, this is harder to explain than I thought."

"Well Pads, you fancy her. That's how I was with Lily."

"So what should I do? Should I tell her?"

"Do you think she feels the same way?"

"I don't know. She doesn't act like she does."

"Maybe you should wait then, give her time to fall for you."

"No, you should tell her. Put it out there so she knows. That's what I did with Lily and it worked out for me."

"She hated you up until this year."

"Nah, she warmed up to me half way through sixth year. Look, if you want another repeat of McLaggen then keep your mouth shut. But if you tell her, at least she knows she has a shot with you. Maybe she fancies you and thinks you're out of her league so she won't even try."

"But what if she doesn't fancy him and it ruins their friendship?"

"He doesn't want to only be her friend though."

"Being her friend is better than losing her altogether."

"Spending the rest of his life wondering 'what if' is worse."

"He'd tell her eventually, but when the time is right."

"And what if the time is never right?"

Sirius cuts into the debate. "Prongs is right, it's a risk I have to take. I can't not tell her just because I'm afraid of losing her friendship. Besides, she isn't like that. She might feel awkward but she won't stop being my friend."

"Are you sure about that?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll be back later," Sirius says, hurrying to the library to surprise Corinne.

"Of course I'd find you here," he says when he spots Corinne at the same table they inhabited yesterday.

"I've told you not to scare me like that!" Corinne hisses while he takes the seat next to hers.

"And that's why I do it," he grins.

"You're impossible," she says. She's shaking her head but Sirius can see a smile playing at her lips. "Why are you here anyway? You already helped me yesterday."

"I reckoned it would be more fun studying with me, but I can take a hint. I'll just be going-"

"Oh sit back down," she says, tugging on his sleeve.

"I knew you wanted me here," he winks.

"Right. Look, if you're spending all this time with me because you think I'm depressed over McLaggen or something, you don't have to."

"That's not why I'm doing it, but now that we're on the subject, how are you?"

"Fine."

Sirius looks at her skeptically so Corinne adds, "we weren't that close and it's been three weeks. Besides, it was my pride and self-esteem that took the biggest blow, not so much my heart."

"So if I were to tell you that Jenna was looking for you because you got an owl from McLaggen, you wouldn't care?"

Corinne's eyes snap up. "Did he really?"

"No, I wanted to see if you're as over him as you think, and I'm not so sure you are."

"I am," she insists. "Curiosity over what he would say doesn't mean I'm not over him. It means that I'm curious, nothing more."

"If you say so," Sirius says. He reaches for the book in front of Corinne and flips it open. "You're starting with Transfiguration?"

Corinne knows he doesn't believe her, but decides to go along with his change in topic. "Yes. I want to brush up on some spells from past years that we rarely use and focus on the more difficult ones I haven't quite mastered from these past two years."

"Any in particular you're having trouble with?"

"Don't tell me you're an expert in this subject too."

"Since we've never had a Transfiguration class together, it makes sense that you wouldn't know about my prowess. My modesty has prevented me from mentioning it before."

"Modesty, right. Transfiguring inanimate objects is easy, transfiguring anything alive, on the other hand, is harder. And don't even get me started on conjuring spells!"

"That's perfectly reasonable. Lisner's Second Law states that-"

"-a conscious object is more resistant to transformation, yes, yes, I know."

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes, sorry."

"Okay, let's start with conjuring spells since that's more difficult. The first thing you need to remember about conjuring is?"

Corinne's eyebrows furrow. "Er, to pick up your wand?"

Sirius lets out a bark of laughter. "Yes, that would be useful, but not what I was looking for." For the next hour, Sirius tutors Corinne until she is able to conjure small objects.

"I need a break," Corinne says. "I've had enough Transfiguration for one day."

"Alright, but we're taking a real break. For the next thirty minutes we're not doing anything academic."

"Fifteen minutes."

"Twenty."

"Fine. What are we doing, then?"

Before Sirius has a chance to answer, James, Peter, and Remus appear. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"We decided to join you two," Remus says. "What are you working on?"

"We're taking a break from Transfiguration and I was going to work on Arithmancy. You don't have to stay, Sirius. You're not taking this subject so it's not like you'd be able to help anyway."

"I'm sure you meant that nicer than you said it," he laughs.

"You haven't told her?" James asks.

"Told me what?" Corinne asks.

"I, er, I'm not taking Arithmancy because I already have."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you about that girl I went out with who was a year older? Well, I met her in Arithmancy. James and I were a year ahead. We finished the final course last year."

"Is that even allowed?"

"We scored so high in our end of year exams in third year that Professor Vector spoke with Dumbledore, told him it would be a waste of our time to make us sit through a year of lessons we already knew."

"Sometimes I wonder why you weren't placed in Ravenclaw."

The rowdy group of boys helps Corinne study, though occasionally breaking the tedium with jokes until Madam Pince kicks them out. Sirius sneaks a glance at Corinne and is relieved to see her laughing as she packs her supplies.

"Sorry about getting us kicked out," James says once they're outside.

"Don't worry about it. I had a lot of fun. Thanks, to all of you. I should get going. I'll see you all in class tomorrow," Corinne says.

"Bye Corinne."

"Goodnight."

They part ways at the staircase. Corinne walks down the corridor while the boys continue up to the seventh floor. "So what was with the impromptu study group?" Sirius asks them.

"We're best mates. If you fancy her, then we're going to make an effort to be her friend," James tells him simply.

"Yeah, she's not as bad as I thought," Peter says.

"Thanks," Sirius laughs. "Seriously though, I appreciate it."

OoOoO

Corinne sees Sirius and runs, hoping he's far enough away that his jinx won't hit her. She makes a right turn at the end of the corridor and continues running without a backwards glance. She rounds the next corner but stops when she realizes that she no longer hears him. She chances a sneak around the corner she just turned and grins when he is nowhere to be seen. He must have made a wrong turn somewhere.

"Tag, you're it."

Corinne jumps and barely manages to stifle her scream. "Sirius! You scared me!"

"Sorry," he grins, clearly not sorry at all.

"How- but- you . . . I just saw you back there. How in the bloody hell did you get here?"

"I came down from the fourth floor. I wasn't anywhere near there."

"No, I'm positive it was you!"

"Maybe you fancy me so much that you're starting to see me everywhere," he winks.

"Right," she says, spinning on her heel and walking away.

"Are you angry?" he asks, going after her.

"No, I'm not angry," she snaps, turning to face him. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, but no, of course I'm not-"

Sirius stops her with a kiss.


No hay excusa por todo este tiempo que ha pasado!

I'm really sorry to all of my lovely, faithful readers! I know I said two weeks and that turned into a month, but I really did have everything written out. I was editing though, and I realized that I didn't like the chapter and Corinne was ooc and I just had to scrap it and rewrite a new scene and fix the old one and even now I'm not sure how I feel about it but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer so here it is! *catches breath* And that cliffhanger, eh? How do you think Corinne will react? How should she? How would you? I'm not sure what I would do in her place.

As always, I hope you like it and reviews are always welcome :)