In the Life of Skye Black

By NarnianAslan

Chapter Two

Author's Note: Alright, well I was doing a bit of role-play on my forum… and I thought up my character… Skye Black… Well, as you may or may not know, Sirius is one of my all-time favorite characters. Obviously AU… so there are a bunch of things I changed. They're listed in the first chapter, but you'll notice a lot more later on.

Well this is chapter two. The day before the ball… Here's the chapter.

Your Authoress,

Pippa Johansen

XXXXX

Ron kept his side of the spit swear. So I kept mine. That was really hard. I wanted to tell someone, but I couldn't. Because I knew Ron too well. If I even gave the slightest hint to anyone, Ron would tell the whole school that I fancied Fred.

Did I mention I hate Ron? Well I do. We've been best friends and worst enemies for as long as I can remember. Sounds confusing, but it isn't. We're best friends half the time… and we're enemies the other half. Kinda like brother and sister.

At any rate, things were mostly normal until two days before the ball. I had ordered my gown. It was a red, off-the-shoulder, just-below-knee length red silk dress, with gold embroidery at the bottom. I was going to wear heels and a gold necklace with it.

Don't get me wrong… sure I prank and I'm on the Quidditch team. I'm much more comfortable in jeans and a big jumper or sweatshirt, but when it comes to balls and proper parties, I'm really, well, girly. I could never stand to be that way all of the time. Even at balls and parties I'm still me. I just dress different.

Katie, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and I were in Transfiguration. Hermione was perfectly vanishing her cat.

Ron kept muttering the incantation, trying to get his own cat to vanish.

"Ron! Stop that!" Hermione reprimanded him.

"What?"

"You're going to hurt the poor thing! You can't just jab your wand. You have to wave it."

"I know that! I was just testing you."

I hid a laugh with a cough.

"Skye," Ron warned.

"We Spit Swore," I reminded him. "The rules of our Spit Swears are that one can only break the Swear if the other has done it already. If one breaks the Swear without the other doing so, the latter has the right to have the former do everything they say for one full week. I haven't broken my side of the Swear, so you can't break your side. Unless you want to be indebted to me for a week."

"Damn rules," Ron muttered.

"You Spit Swore?" Hermione gasped. "That's past disgusting. That's positively revolting!"

Emily and her boyfriend, Robert North turned around in their chairs to face us.

"What'd you Spit Swear?" Emily asked.

"That neither of us would tell anyone who the other fancies," I said.

"Well can't be nearly as hard on your part, can it?" Robert asked me. "Because nearly everyone knows who Ron fancies."

"Yes, and even I don't know who you fancy," Emily said.

"Only a select few do know. Some I wish didn't." I sent a glare in the direction of Ron, who was still jabbing his wand at his cat. Hermione was guiding his hand through the proper motion.

"He's doing that on purpose," Emily pointed out in a low voice.

"You don't say?" I responded sarcastically, equally quiet.

"It's actually kind of pathetic." Harry had joined our whispered conversation.

"Kind of? Try extremely," Robert said. We all nodded in agreement.

"Class dismissed," Professor McGonagall called from the front of the classroom. We all gathered our things.

Ron and I set out for the Quidditch pitch, slowly. Harry had raced ahead of us to talk to Angelina.

"On to another grueling Quidditch Practice with Angelina the Mental." Fred and Ginny had joined us.

"Where are George and Katie?" Ron asked.

"You're asking me? I have no idea. We may be twins, but we don't share a brain," Fred said.

"Katie and George are probably snogging each other senseless."

"Great mental image, Gin," Fred started, "My twin snogging Katie." He shuddered.

"Yeah well I'm just glad they did start dating. It was so annoying. Katie was always talking about him in private. A bit mad, really."

"At least she wasn't a stalker like Cho and Marietta were," I pointed out.

"And she did have quite an advantage, knowing how he acted, and being friends with him," Ginny added.

"Changing the topic," Fred said rather loudly. "How goes getting tickets to a Prides game, Skye?"

Pride of Portree, or the Prides, were my favorite Quidditch team. They had been since I can remember. I vaguely remember meeting one of my dad's old friends, and him being a Ballycastle Bats fan. I'd gotten into an argument with his son about it. Well, fight, rather. I was five and can barely remember it.

"All right, I guess. But Mum and Dad want to see an improvement in my grades. Well, I think Dad wants to see us smash Slytherin in Quidditch, but, you get the point."

"Yeah, but that'll be easy!" Fred grinned.

"True…" I sighed, "Malfoy can't beat Harry if his life depended on it."

"Definitely, but I have to get down to the pitch, Angelina will murder me if I'm late," Fred said as he and Ginny began to run to the pitch. Ginny always went along to watch. Ron and I lagged behind.

"Now I need to go see if Emily is down at the pitch with Luna yet."

"What is it with you four?"

"You mean Katie, Ginny, Emily, and I?" I asked.

"Yeah. You lot are all different."

"How so?"

"Well Katie's sporty and sarcastic, gets good enough marks, and she's in love with food, Quidditch, and George. You're always getting into trouble, love hexing people, Quidditch, eating, and you don't even bother with schoolwork. Ginny, well she's Ginny. Still probably in love with Harry, brilliant at school, helps everyone she can, and she's annoying. Emily, she's weird. Completely random, vegetarian, obsessed with vampires, never stops reading, and should have been a Ravenclaw."

"Meaning she's smart?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend, Ron." With that I quickened my pace and went out to the pitch.

Emily and Luna rushed up to greet me.

"Skye!" Emily exclaimed.

"What?"

"George and Katie aren't here and Angelina is having an absolute fit."

"It looks like she got bitten by a Claricteo," Luna added. I noticed she was wearing her Gryffindor Lion hat.

"Speaking of Angelina," Emily whispered.

"Black! You and Fred are going to find Bell and George."

"Er- alright. Can Emily and Luna come? It'll be easier and faster if we bring more people." I had to catch up with them, I'd only been talking with Fred, George, Ron, and Harry recently.

"Fine. And bring North too; he's getting on my last nerve. I told them practice is for the team only." I knew what she meant. Robert was a Ravenclaw. He was perfectly nice, and I've always wondered why he isn't a Gryffindor. But Ange didn't trust him. Everyone else did.

"Right."

"I'll go get him," Luna said as she went up to get Robert. Angelina went over to Harry and Ron. Fred made his way over to Emily and me.

"Don't wanna be near Angelina right now," he whispered. I nodded. Angelina was yelling again, I could make out words like 'pathetic' and 'practice' and 'Hufflepuff'.

"Why is she yelling at Harry, though? That's what gets me," I said.

"Yeah, Harry's been excellent since his first practice," Emily agreed. Luckily, before we could hear much more of Angelina, who was now yelling words like 'irresponsible' and 'team', Luna brought down Robert. We set off to the castle.

"Who's for never coming back?" Fred questioned. I hit his arm.

"Ange will kill us."

"All right. It was just an idea."

I ignored him. "So Emily, I haven't been able to talk to you in weeks. What've you been doing?"

"Studying. It's O.W.L.s remember. I want to be an Auror so I need to study. I think I have most of the classes down. There's been the occasional study break where I read up on the Muggle's theory of vampires. It's quite interesting, really."

"I shouldn't have asked. Well are you going to the ball?"

"Yes. With Robert, obviously."

"Great. I'm stuck with four girls who are caught up in the ball," Fred groaned. Robert nodded and they began talking.

"What're you wearing?" I asked Emily.

"A dark blue gown with sort of a shimmery type look."

"Sounds gorgeous," I sighed.

"I'm wearing a purple and orange gown," Luna said.

"I'm going to wear a red silk gown. It's off the shoulder, and comes to just below my knees."

"As enlightening as this is," Fred said loudly, "we have to find Katie and George."

As if on cue, Katie and George ran down the corridor past us, laughing.

"Run!" Katie yelled. We ran, figuring Filtch or someone was after us. We ran straight to the pitch.

XXXXX

"KATELYN BELL AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" Angelina roared. Luna, Emily, and Robert ran straight back to the stands. Fred and I inched over to Harry and Ron.

"D'you reckon she's sore because she can't get a date?" Ron asked. I glared at him.

"Lee keeps asking her out. It isn't that," Fred said.

"Well then she fancies someone and can't get him to date her," Ron said decisively. Harry made sort of and odd choking sound. I could tell he was fighting a laugh. But I wasn't so kind. I laughed out loud.

"What was that Skye?" Ron asked me. Damn. The Spit Swear.

"Oh. That? Nothing. But Angelina fancying someone? The only one she ever fancied was Oliver."

"True, true… But does she have a date to the End-of-Year Ball?" Fred asked.

"That could be it," Ron agreed. He caught my eye and I could tell he was going to get me back. Damn. I had to keep my guard up when we actually practiced.

"Practice is off tonight!" Angelina called. "We'll do it tomorrow afternoon. I'll get you when it's time."

"So much for practice," I said. Fred, Harry, Ron and I turned to start back to the castle as Luna, Ginny, Emily, and Robert came down from the stands. Emily and Robert went straight back to the castle.

"Hey, Skye! Ginny! Luna! Wait up!" Katie called. She and George ran to catch up with us. George headed off with Harry, Ron, and Fred, no doubt to rant on about why Angelina was beings so much like Oliver.

"Hey Katie!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Hey, Gin," Katie said. We spent the rest of the way to Ravenclaw tower talking. Luna went in Ravenclaw tower, answering the riddle. I had to make a mental note of them not having a password.

"I'll see you guys later," Ginny smiled and hurried to the common room. Katie and I wandered around aimlessly.

"Sooo," I said, "Wanna prank Ange?"

"Nah, not yet… Depends on how hard she pushes us during practice."

"How about Snivellus?"

"Maybe at the ball."

"Yeah. Ferret boy?" I suggested.

"Malfoy? You can, I have to talk to Ange."

"I will."

"Why don't you get Fred to go down with you?" Katie asked.

"I guess I could. But Fred might get out of control."

"Yeah probably not good, seeing as Fred attempted to beat Malfoy to a pulp when he was being a sore loser after we beat Slytherin."

"Well, I think we should go to the common room. I need to convince Fred."

"And I have to talk to Angelina. Who d'you think would be a good replacement?" Katie asked.

"She's not going to sack you. You're too good! You'll probably play for Puddlemere one day!" I said as we started toward the tower.

"Not as long as Oliver's there. My god. They're my favorite team, but I would not like to be on a team with Oliver again."

"Harpies then?" I asked. The Harpies were Katie's second-favorite team. Primarily because it was all-witches.

"Maybe. So long as Ange doesn't play for them."

I laughed. "Angelina'll play for Puddlemere. You know that."

"Yeah."

"So what are you wearing to the ball?" I asked, as we ascended the staircase that led to Gryffindor Tower.

"A simple orange gown."

"Oh no!" I said in mock surprise, "Not the Cannons color!"

"Very funny. My gown isn't bright orange, its sort of a burnt orange."

"Riiiiighhht."

"Are you going to give me the password or stand there all night?" asked the Fat Lady.

"Oh, er- what's the password Skye?"

I sighed, "Even Neville remembered this. Mandrake."

The Fat Lady swung aside and we entered the common room. I went over to Fred. I was getting tired. I checked my watch. 8:30. Early. But then again, I did have a busy day, and I did need sleep.

"Hey, Skye." Fred smiled as I sat down next to him.

"Hi."

"So, have you figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?"

"Ginny still fancies Harry," he whispered.

"Nuh-uh? Really?" I asked sarcastically.

"You can never let me have anything, can you?"

"Nope." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You're no fun!"

"I'm loads of fun!"

"Prove it!"

"Meet me down here in 5 hours. At 1:30."

"What are we doing?"

"It's a secret," I said. I gave him a smile. The mischievous, special one I used only for him. He smiled back, and his grin was one I'd only ever seen him use for me. Why was my stomach fluttering? I'd fancied Fred for years now. But he looked so cute right then.

"Alright, but don't bail on me."

"I won't, don't worry." I smiled again and went up to my dorm. What was wrong with me? Was Ron knowing my secret making me all weird around Fred? I only hoped that it'd go away by 1:30.

Author's Note:. Ah well. I was planning on taking this a different way, but I don't think I will. I think I've just started a brilliant new direction of this story.

Pippa

Edit Note: I edited up a lot… so here it is. Edited chapter two. Probably still with some errors. So I'll have to re-edit it again. ::Sigh::

Save the Snorkacks and the Demiguises. Review.