A/N- Another chapter! Woo hoo!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The common perception of Sirius Black was-

"Sirius Black is flawless!" Gryffindor 5th year.

"He has two platinum quills and a Nimbus 1980!" Ravenclaw 6th year.

"I hear his hair is insured for 10,000 Galleons!" Ravenclaw 7th year.

"I heard he does broom commercials. In Japan!" Gryffindor 7th year.

"His favorite band is Led Zepplin." Hufflepuff 5th year.

"He once met Celestina Warbeck at the station!" Hufflepuff 7th year.

"And she told him he was fit!" Hufflepuff 7th year's friend.

"One time, he punched me in the face. It was awesome!" Slytherin 7th year.

In reality, he was just trying to have fun. And that involved a lot of pranks with James, Peter, and occasionally Remus. He tried his best to avoid anything related to his family and his horrendous childhood. Which usually meant more pranks and detentions. Between that and quidditch practice, he didn't get much time to look at girls or get involved in a relationship.

Not that he wasn't interested. It was just that it wasn't as important as his friends or quidditch or…

"Who'd you hook up with last night?"

Sirius turned to James who was trying his best to separate a pair of… socks?

"Umm… Don't really remember her name. And we didn't really hook up. Just snogged for a bit and then - What in Merlin's name are you doing, Prongs?" he asked as James pulled the socks apart with all his strength, lost his balance and fell off the bed.

"Don't shoot me..." muttered Peter, awoken by the sudden noise and then rolling over and snoring again.

"S-sorry 'bout that," said James, massaging the back of his head. "Blooming socks got bloody knotted up."

"How you manage to stay on a broom is beyond me," said Sirius, standing up and putting on his shirt. "Why'd you ask about me hooking up, then?"

"Just- woah! I think I found Pete's missing box of Sugar Quills- Ugh! It has fluffy green stuff growing on it! Right. Sorry. No more distractions. You usually don't snog people. I mean, not since well, not since the beginning of fifth year."

"Yeah, well, I think I'm finally over her," said Sirius with a shrug. Sirius had dated this very pretty Hufflepuff in their year, Penelope Bronson. He had been completely infatuated with her and she had been his first proper girlfriend, not just a random snog behind a statue. But then they had broken up barely two months after they had started dating. It was Sirius' first heart break.

"Good for you mate! Now I can finally stop spreading those rumors about you," said James, with a grin.

"Absolutely. And by the way, that hair insurance thing was genius!"

"For fuck's sake, would you two SHUT IT!" came Remus' muffled voice from beneath the pillows.

"Moony, what have we talked about?" said James, tying his tie properly.

"You're a werewolf not a-" prompted Sirius, waiting for Remus to complete the sentence. Instead the sandy haired Marauder waved his wand and pulled the carpet away from underneath both their feet, causing an almighty crash as the two boys fell over dramatically.

"Merlin, remind me to keep the alcohol away from him next time," said Sirius, sitting down at the Gryffindor table gingerly. "My arse hurts!"

"What's that about your arse?" asked Marlene, smirking at him.

"Get your head out of the gutter, McKinnon. It's not what you think."

"So you and the boys don't get frisky after a few drinks?" asked Marlene, biting back a smirk. "Because that's what we do over at the girl's dorm."

Sirius spluttered into his pumpkin juice while James coughed and gagged on his bacon. It took at least five entire minutes for them to both calm down, by which time Marlene and the girls were in fits.

"Gutter-head strikes again!" said Marlene, high-fiving Lily.

Dany felt her facial muscles strain as she laughed along with the others. Unfortunately, she had to try extremely hard to not let her true emotions show. While she enjoyed all the witty banter and humorous anecdotes, she was also envious of how well Marlene got along with the boys. It was so natural, she didn't have to work towards being her utterly charming self. And she was good at Quidditch, something that Dany had always wanted to take part in.

Just then, an owl flew over their heads and dropped a letter into Dany's lap. From the writing, she could tell that it was her mother.

Darling Dany,

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. We miss you terribly, even though you've been at boarding school for more than 5 years now. Your grandmother wanted me to write to you from her as well. She hopes that you finally learn some sort of charm for her hair to stop thinning. I told her that such a thing might not exist, but she's quite stubborn about all of this.

Your father is rather busy at the Ministry at the moment but has informed me that we might have a few relatives over this weekend. I will let you know about the horror of it all in my next letter.

With all my love,

Mum.

P.S. I've also sent some snacks for you and your friends. Hope it's enough this time.

"Have you guys…" she trailed off as she caught a glimpse of James and Sirius peering into a large blue box on the table. "Oi! That's mine!" She grabbed it away from in front of them, annoyed at their behaviour.

"Blimey! That looked so good," said James, looking at her with wide eyes. "Won't you share, Dany?"

"I was going to! But after you inspected it without my permission, I don't think I will," she said with a huff. Normally, she would have just shared, but something about everyone around her was ticking her off.

"I'm off to Potions," she said, getting up and striding away with, what she hoped wasn't, obvious desperation. Ugh! Sodding annoying perfect Gryffindors!

She waited in Potions for Slughorn to arrive, gazing moodily out of the window. She could see people shuffling into class through the corner of her eye, but didn't bother turning around. Suddenly, she felt something shift beside her as a tall presence settled there.

She looked at him with a rather massive hint of annoyance.

"What? I sit here, remember?" he said with a shrug.

Dany just frowned and opened her book just as Slughorn entered.

Sirius wasn't sure how or why, but he was definitely sure that Dany was pissed off. He could tell by her stiff body language, subtly clenched jaws and even greater lack of conversation. Not to mention her eyes. Merlin. If anyone ever said that she was dull and expressionless, they obviously hadn't ever looked at her eyes.

They were currently glowering, at Sirius, her textbook, Slughorn and the Ravenclaw in front of them who had had the misfortune of turning around and asking for a quill.

He didn't know her too well but he was sure that the incident with her package from home during breakfast hadn't been the only cause of her irritation. But then, he didn't really know what to do in this situation.

He looked over at James, who was chatting with Marlene and shooting glances at Evans. That little bugger had no troubles at all sometimes.

Not usually known for his wise decisions, Sirius decided to let her be. He'd figure out some way to cheer her up later. Poking a seething Dany didn't seem like a wise decision. Especially surrounded by various potions and flaming cauldrons.

Dany was very aware of the fact that Sirius kept shooting her glances now and then. Somehow that pissed her off even more. Why the hell was he doing that? He didn't give a rat's arse two nights ago when he had his tongue down that girl's throat.

Potions ended and she shot off again, hopefully managing to avoid any enthusiastic red and golds. Slipping into a dark corner, she waited for everyone to leave and then tiptoed back towards the dungeons. Fortunately for her, she was able to find exactly who she was looking for.

"Dany?"

She grinned at him- her childhood friend, next door neighbour and Slytherin 7th year Scott O'Brien. He looked a little amused by her expression and shook his head softly.

"Just came to see you," she said, giving him a hug. "Haven't really talked since we came back this year. How's Liam?"

"Spiffing," he replied with a grin. "Lucky bastard gets to tour the country and play Quidditch at the same time!" Scott's older brother, Liam was the Keeper for Ballycastle Bats and had been for the past year or so.

"So what's up, Dany? You generally don't greet people with such enthusiasm unless something's bothering you," he said with a chuckle when she gasped indignantly.

"I'm not a Gryffindor," she said with a sigh.

"Your uniform begs to differ. Sorry, no. What's this about?"

"Well…" and she poured out everything that had happened recently, starting with her being partnered with Sirius right upto her flaring irritation that day.

"Not sure why I'm so irritated though. I mean, I'm not the person who always needs to be at the center of attention. So why?" she asked, sighing heavily into the damp November air.

"I think you like all of them," said Scott with a small smile. "And you don't want to be rejected. In any way. But since you aren't naturally extroverted, you feel like that'll be a problem. But," he stopped and poked her shoulder, "it won't. And if it does, then they weren't worth it."

"Damn, O'Brien! How're you so good at this?" she asked with a laugh. "But thanks. And I know it seems like I only talk to you when I'm having some sort of personal crisis, but you know that's not true right?"

"Of course not. And I'll take my payment in Ice Mice, thanks."

"I'll be sure to stock up on that this weekend," she said, grinning and giving him one more hug. "Thanks, Scott."

"Someone's looking chipper!"

Lily rolled her eyes as James jumped up from his seat and walked over to Dany. "Honestly, Potter. Have you ever heard of the term 'subtlety'?" she asked with a scoff.

"Aw, don't be like that, Evans!" he said, slinging an arm around Dany's shoulder, making her stiffen slightly. "Dany's a mate! No need to tiptoe around mates!"

"Yes, her grimace just screams excitement," said Lily, rolling her eyes once again.

"Oi Lils! They'll roll into the back of your head if you keep doing that," said Marlene with a grin. Lily glared at her friend and threw the nearest thing within her reach. Which just happened to be Peter's half eaten cheese sandwich.

Marlene easily dodge it and it ended up smacking Remus on the side of his head. "Wrong move, Evans!" she said with a grin.

Lily looked mortified. "I am so sorry, Remus," she said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"That's fine, Lily," he said with a reluctant smile. "Unfortunately, I've had my fair share of sandwich attacks living in the same dorm as these three." He pointed at James, Sirius and Peter. Lily's eyes immediately flared up.

"You! This is all your fault!" she said, marching towards James who immediately let go of Dany and backed away.

"Normally, I'd agree. But Evans-"

Dany chuckled to herself as she watched Lily yell at James, her face matching her hair, while James, a good few inches taller than her, looked like a frightened deer.

"Evans really has a way with words, doesn't she?" said Sirius, sitting down on the arm of the sofa she had settled into.

Dany flushed slightly, something that she had taken to doing a lot these days. "Yeah, well, James does seem to bring out the best in her."

"Prongs has a gift. That's all I can say," he said with a slight smirk. After a few moments, she could feel his eyes on her, but remained resolutely focused on the speck of dirt on her shoe. "You aren't going to subject me to more silent glares, are you?"

Again with the flush! Honestly, what was her problem? Or maybe it was his damn voice, all low and melodious. Could he sing well? No! That wasn't important!

"No."

"Good." Once again they lapsed into silence. Lily had finally calmed down and was helping Remus clean his shirt. James, on the other hand, had an extremely moony eyed look on his face as Marlene shoved his shoulders in irritation.

"Because I rather like talking to you."

Oh Merlin. Dany would have given anything for a blackout at this point just so that Sirius wouldn't be able to see how red her face had become. She dared not look at him, knowing that her ruddy transparent expressions would definitely subject her to intense mortification.

"Dany!" Oh thank heavens for Marlene McKinnon and her complete inability to gauge situations. "You know what I think?"

"What?" said Dany, letting go of a breath she hadn't been aware that she had been holding.

"Lilykins secretly has the hots for our dear captain," she said with a grin.

"Huh?" The question was more of disbelief rather than incomprehension.

"Has the hots for? Thinks he's fit? Finds him delectable? Would snog the pants off of hi-"

"No, no. I know what you mean. But what? Why would you think that?" said Dany, genuinely bewildered.

"He's the only one she snaps at so often. And she gets far too worked up about stupid things. Like today for instance."

"I don't know…"

"I'm right. You'll see. I can always tell with these things. People reaching shag-point, developing snog-potential, etc."

"Lovely, McKinnon," said Sirius with a smirk. Dany had almost forgotten that he was still there. "I propose we test out this theory of yours."

"You're on, Black! 5 Galleons says that they'll end up snogging at Hogsmeade this weekend!" said Marlene, her eyes glinting in excitement.

"Marls, I don't thi-"

"Oh hush, Dany! What do you say?"

"Deal. The three of us will keep an eye on the lovely couple during the trip."

"Three of us?" said Marlene, looking slightly confused. "You mean Remus? Or Peter?"

"I mean Wilson over here." Dany whipped her head around to see him smirking at her quite deviously.

"Wh-what? No!"

"Oh come on, Dany! It'll be fun! Plus, when Sirius loses, I'll buy you chocolates from Honeydukes!"

"But I-"

"And when McKinnon loses, I'll buy you a Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks," said Sirius, running a hand through his hair and tousling it perfectly. He got up and walked towards the boys' dorms, turned briefly and shot them both a wink.

"Bugger," muttered Dany as Marlene threw a cushion at Sirius.

Okay, so there was a very glaring reference in this chapter. Anyone who can point it out gets to suggest a scene for the Hogsmeade chapter! So review it up, people!

Cheers!