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: It's a Date
Once Leah arrived at the common room, she plopped down at one of the tables and dug her favorite 'Flavored Ink' quill out of her messenger bag, eager to begin her letter back to home to Heather. She gave the tip of her quill a solid lick- "Mmm, cherry!"- and flattened a strip of parchment on the table.
"Hmm, where to start?"
Dear Heather, she wrote neatly,
I miss you, too. You have no idea! It's fun hanging out with Sirius and the others, but I haven't forgotten about you, I swear. I guess I'll tell you a little bit about Sirius, since you asked so nicely... well, where do I start?
Leah thought for a moment, unsure of what exactly to write about. There were many sides to Sirius Black: he was goofy, loveable, childish, and fun- but he was also a loyal friend, and could be mature when it mattered.
I think his best trait is that he sees the fun in life, even if it's invisible to everyone else, you know? He's funny, and brilliant. He's not a fan of books, but when it comes to causing trouble, he's incredibly clever. He became an animagus in his fifth year! Can you believe that? It takes a 'Sirius' amount of skill to become an animagus! (There, are you happy? I used the pun.) He, James, and Peter all became animagi so that they could transform with Remus. I feel so stupid for not thinking about it before now! That's such a good idea. Maybe I should do that, too.
But then, what animal would I be? Sirius is a dog, James is a stag, and Peter is a rat. What an odd group, don't you think? Can you imagine people seeing them together! I can just imagine little Peter riding on James' back, while Sirius chases some poor cat up a tree. I'm laughing just thinking about it!
Sirius has a cousin named Bellatrix, who absolutely hates my guts. I don't mind, though, because she's the stuck up rich-kid type, who has a posse of mindless clones. They're all a bunch of freaks who are really into Dark Magic and all that. She's the one who told the school about why I was expelled. Sirius hates her, too. You know, when we first met, he told me his mother was dead (or so he hoped). Turns out, she's not. His family is made up of twisted, dark witches and wizards, so Sirius ran away to go live with James. Apparently he'd been disowned, but he couldn't be happier.
Today, I pretended to be Sirius' girlfriend so that this girl named Melaina would stop hitting on him. He told her we were going out, so I played along. It was fun- I wonder if he knew I wasn't doing any pretending. It all felt real to me. Is that weird? And on Halloween, he tried to kiss me. I stopped him, because he's known for being a player. Remus told me the rumors weren't true, and I believe him, but sometimes I feel like he's just playing around, so I don't want to get too into it.
After all, he's popular, and handsome, and smart, and funny... He's got amazing friends. What could he possibly see in me, the plain, American wolf-lover? (That's my nickname here, now, thanks to Bellatrix.) One of the girls at lunch today thought it was funny, too. Melaina told her that Sirius and I were dating and she called me the "flavor of the week," and asked what was so special about me. I don't know. He teases me a lot, but somehow he always knows how to cheer me up when I'm homesick or something.
It's all so complex. I usually talk it over with Remus- he's amazing when it comes to giving advice. Well, if anything else happens, I'll write about it right away! I promise!
Best wishes from all of us,
Leah
(PS: Yes, Remus is hot. Not as hot as Sirius in my opinion, but still fairly hot. His hair is already graying a bit, but I think it makes him look more manly. I'll send a picture next time you write, okay? I love you!)
Leah smiled as she waved the letter in the air, drying the ink before she rolled it up into a scroll. She stacked her books, humming happily, but when she turned to grab her messenger bag, she noticed there was a pair of shiny black shoes beside them. Her humming stopped abruptly, and she looked up- it was none other than Sirius Black. His gray eyes were staring blankly at her letter. A jolt of fear shot through her heart. Had he read it?
No way, she told herself. It's already rolled up! He couldn't have been standing there the whole time! ... Could he?
"Sirius!" She pushed him playfully. "Don't sneak up on me like that, you scared me!"
"Sorry," he said, shaking himself out of his reverie and returning her smile. "I didn't mean to."
"Well, you're just in time to walk with me to the Owl Room," she told him, scooping up her belongings into her arms. "Want to?"
"Sure." He grabbed her bag despite her protests, carrying it for her politely as they made their way out of the common room and into the corridor. Their walk started slowly and silently, and Leah couldn't shake the feeling that Sirius had been standing there longer than she thought. She looked around for something, anything she could use to start a conversation. Suddenly, a group of posters on the wall caught her eye and she pointed them out to break the awkward silence.
"Quidditch tryouts start soon," she cheered, stopping to check the dates and available positions. "It's starting a bit late this year; because of the weather, I heard... Are you going to try out?"
"I'm a veteran Gryffindor beater," he boasted. "No one's better than me; I don't need to try out."
"I'm going for chaser. I wanted the beater position, too," she admitted, laughing and brushing her hair behind her ear, "but compared to the competition, like you and Dane, I'm not nearly strong enough for it."
"I'll cheer for you," he promised, winking at her. "Dane is a weak little git- he won't last two days." His eyes moved to the other poster, which was bigger, and was written in silver and golden ink that looked as though it was covered in glitter, as well. Leah followed his gaze and read the sign aloud.
"Masquerade Ball," she murmured to herself. "Yeah, have you heard about it? It's to celebrate the 'Union of the Houses,' or whatever." She curled her fingers into air-quotes as she resumed walking. "Dane asked me the other day, but I turned him down."
"Good."
"Huh?" Leah glanced up at Sirius. "What do you mean?"
"Are you daft? Because you're going with me, of course." He stared at the curvy golden lettering for a moment, then continued walking down the corridor without another word, his long-legged stride easily catching up to Leah's pace. She looked up at him in astonishment.
"That's extremely presumptuous of you," she groused. "What if I refuse?"
"Are you refusing?" He asked. "Blimey, I've had all sorts of gits asking if you and I were actually dating so that they could ask you to the Ball. The entire school thinks we're a bloody couple, thanks to Melaina's big mouth, you know."
"Thanks to you," she corrected, frustrated. "We don't have to go together for the sake of your reputation... I'm sure you'd have no trouble finding another girl to go with- it's still two weeks away."
"That's true. And you'd definitely find another guy to go with if I did pick someone else... but I don't want to go with another girl, I want to go with you."
Her heart thumped unsteadily in her chest at the sincerity of the words. "Why?"
He just shook his head and smiled, something light and mysterious glowing in his eyes. Leah thought she could read those same old words within them, repeating like a strange song.
It's not a game.
Then what is it? Leah sighed, allowing a small smile to grace her lips. "Alright, I'll go with you, since you asked so nicely. As long as we can crash it. I always hated school dances."
Sirius grinned broadly.
"It's a date."
A/N: My shortest chapter without a doubt! (1500 words) People who read the previous version are going "Heeey, where's the makeout scene? And where the hell did this Masquerade Ball show up from?" Well, I honestly thought they were getting together too soon, and I was reading the Yule Ball scene from the Goblet of Fire... All I can say is, inspiration struck. Trust me, the snogging will happen! Just not now. Soon! I promise. Thank you so much for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!