A/N- Sometimes I hate myself for impulsively writing scenes which I have a hard time following up later. This was one of the latter. But I think I've managed to not fuck it up completely. Although you'll have to wait for more insight obv.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Sirius walked into Potions, settling down into his seat lazily. His eyes scanned the room, spotting James talking excitedly with Marlene. Behind them, Remus and Dorcas were going through some notes. Lily and Mary were sitting next to them, occasionally leaning in to add something to the discussion. However, there was no sign of his own partner. He wondered why she wasn't here yet. Normally, she would have gotten here well before him. In fact, he hadn't really seen her after his Potions exam and the… well, the kiss.

The bell rang for the class to begin and she bustled in, her hair open and books clutched to her chest. Sirius let out a breath of relief. At least he knew that she wasn't avoiding him. It would be mighty difficult to continue a class with his partner ignoring him.

They were reviewing fifth year Potions in class and Slughorn wanted them all to pick one potion and brew it successfully. And it was during this particular assignment that Sirius discovered that his partner wasn't absolutely spiffing. She barely said two words to him, nodding her head occasionally and working almost mechanically. She refused to even look at him, preferring to pour over her book while they were waiting. Normally, Sirius would have at least tried to get her to react but something was holding him back. Maybe it was the slight frown that graced her forehead. Maybe it was the fact that his insides started squirming every time he glanced at her. Or maybe it was just that he didn't feel particularly inclined to investigate the inner musings of this somewhat temperamental person.

So he also said nothing and the class passed by in this way. Drawing a few curious stares from James, Remus and Marlene. Lily was completely engrossed in her work and Dorcas and Mary hadn't really picked up on anything. The bell rang once again to signal the end of class and before Sirius could do anything, the girl beside him had gotten up and swiftly walked out before anyone else.

"Mate." Sirius turned around to see James heading over to him, Remus a little way behind. "What's going on with Dany? Did you piss her off?"

"Why would you think that?" said Sirius with a frown.

"Come on, Padfoot," said Remus, catching up to them. "She looked pretty ticked off and you two barely exchanged a word."

"That doesn't mean that I pissed her off. Who knows what goes on in her head…" he muttered darkly.

"Whatever," said James. "Let's get to Herbology before Sprout gives us detention."

Dany was glad that she had a free period after Potions. Working with Sirius had been torture. She kept replaying their kiss and her stomach churned each time, trying hard to stop herself from throwing up. This was ridiculous. How had she landed in such a predicament? A few months ago, she had barely exchanged words with Hogwarts' most handsome wizard, but now she had successfully snogged him and was freaking the fuck out.

Why was she freaking out so much? She didn't have feelings for him. Other than the obvious attraction everyone felt towards his darkly handsome looks and magnetic personality. Perhaps it was because she had never done anything impulsive like this before. It was completely unlike her and the worst part was that she wasn't sure what she felt about it. A part of her was mortified that she had actually kissed Sirius but the other part, one that was at loggerheads with the first part, was trying to scream out that she had enjoyed it so much. And it was this conflict that made Dany want to throw up two weeks worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She wondered if she should confide in someone. She wasn't too sure about it. She barely ever discussed her personal life with anyone. And this particular incident happened to be very private and she didn't know whether she could trust anyone with that information or the swirl of emotions inside her. Would Sirius tell anyone about it? Probably not. There were always rumors going around about his latest conquests, although she didn't know whether she really believed any of them. But she did know that kissing a girl would not be big news to Sirius Black. And especially not kissing her. She wasn't popular, she wasn't athletic, and she wasn't witty and charming. Nothing to match any bit of his extraordinariness. Perhaps that was better. He would probably brush it off and not think twice about the kiss. It was utterly inconsequential. But what if he didn't… What if he found it very amusing that his shy and reserved Potions partner had actually jumped at the chance to kiss him - just like so many others.

As always, over-analyzing didn't help. But that had never stopped Dany. She sat in her bed the entire period, thinking of different scenarios and how each one would turn out badly for her. Ultimately, the bell rang and she walked down to the common room, not really interested in getting lunch.

"I cannot believe that prat!" Lily burst through the portrait hole, red in the face, followed by a slightly distraught Marlene.

"Lils, calm down-"

"I will not calm down! Just who the fuck does he think he is?!" yelled Lily.

"But he didn't even do anything. Lils, please ju-"

"Didn't do anything? He didn't have to! I know exactly what was going to happen!"

Marlene looked quite helpless - something that was very unlike her usual demeanour. Dany looked at her questioningly but the blonde just shook her head indicating that now was not a good time.

"I'm heading down for lunch…" she said, leaving the words hanging in the air. Marlene looked at Lily tentatively and the redhead finally let out a sigh and nodded her head. The three of them reached the Great Hall and were greeted by Dorcas and Mary.

Lunch was very stiff and uncomfortable because the Marauders had joined them as well and Lily looked like she was about to explode. It was rather odd to see James looking so sheepish and uncertain. Peter kept shooting Remus anxious glances and the sandy haired boy would nod his head with a slightly perplexed look on his face. Sirius was particularly moody, going to great lengths to not hide his disdain at Lily's behaviour. Dany was just glad that there was something to distract her from her previous obsessive thoughts.

"Dorcas, do you think I could borrow your Astronomy notes?" asked Marlene, trying to diffuse the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Yeah, of course," she replied, giving her a small smile. "You missed the last class as well, didn't you Remus? I can lend them to you as well."

Remus looked slightly taken aback to be addressed so abruptly but smiled and nodded his head nonetheless. An owl flew in, dropping a letter into Dany's lap. She wondered who it was from and opened it slowly, while giving the owl a tiny bit of her food.

"Peter," said Mary, beginning on her dessert. "What was that card game you lot were playing last night?"

"Oh, it's a modified version of muggle poker," said the smaller boy, grinning at her. While usually intimidated by most girls, Peter had an easy camaraderie with Mary. "Remus and I developed it over last term."

"Poker? Like Texas Hold 'em?" asked Mary, curiously.

"That's the one! We could teach you if you like," he said, chewing on some cheese.

"Yeah! I'd love that. I'm sure we'd all be interested," she said, looking around at her friends. Dorcas and Marlene- both purebloods- exchanged bemused expressions but nodded along, Lily shrugged disinterestedly while Dany was still absorbed in reading her letter.

"So how'd you come up with the idea?" she continued.

"Oh, umm…"

"Peter's rather good at anything involving strategy," said Remus with a grin. "He's the best out of all of us at chess and he's really good at picking up anything that involves chance or probability."

"That's impressive, Pete," said Marlene. "Didn't know you had it in you."

The blond boy flushed at the statement and Remus clapped him on the back, laughing at his embarrassment.

"Well, how would you?" said Lily. "What with Potter stealing the limelight from everyone all the time."

The light mood that had descended on the group immediately evaporated. Peter looked uncomfortable once again, Remus looking at James apprehensively. Marlene was gaping at Lily in disbelief, while Dorcas and Mary looked worried. James, himself, just looked incredibly resigned.

"Lils," began Marlene.

"I'm right, aren't I? Big-headed Potter running around the school like he owns it. Not a care for other people. Absolute disregard for any kind of rules. How would anyone notice anything that Peter, or for that matter, Remus, does with their supposed best friend stealing everyone's attention with his arrogance and-"

"Would you just shut up!"

Everyone, including Lily, looked at the owner of the voice with shocked expressions.

"I really don't understand your problem. James hasn't done anything. He's sitting there and eating his lunch and you just cannot stop yourself from-from- BITCHING about him! You accuse James of being an arrogant areshole, well as I see it, you're the one who's being an arsehole now. A presumptuous, condescending, judgemental arsehole! So just shut the fuck up," Dany completed through gritted teeth, her eyes alight with anger.

Before anyone could react, she picked up her things and stormed out of the Great Hall. Fortunately, the only ones who had been privy to her outburst were the sixth year Gryffindors, because even though she had been livid, her voice had still been low.

Dany hovered outside the dungeons, her fingers clasped around the letter she had received. After storming out of lunch, she had made a beeline for the Slytherin common room, hoping to find Scott. Scott would be there. Scott would know what to say. Scott would understand what she was going through.

She waited and waited and waited. But Scott didn't appear. Soon, the bell rang and she turned away resignedly. He clearly wasn't there. She's have to find him after classes.

Unfortunately, the pacing and the waiting hadn't eased her mind even a bit. She bit her lower lip, trying to contain her tears. Not really looking at where she was going, she wandered into the Transfiguration Courtyard and almost knocked into someone who appeared to be in a great deal of hurry.

"Dany?"

"James…"

The bespectacled boy ran a hand through his hair, making it stick out at odd angles. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, I…"

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, looking at her with concern. "You look upset. I mean, you didn't look too happy during Potions either. And I don't know if it has anything to do with Padfoot, but you shouldn't bother yourself about him too much. He gets moody at times. I think, he also believes that it looks attractive on him, the prat. Woah! Why're you crying?"

Dany shook her head softly, unable to control her tears any longer. James hesitated slightly but eventually put an arm around her shoulder. It was oddly comforting and Dany found herself spilling her guts to him.

"I-I just got a letter from home. My grandmum- she's really sick. They've put her into the hospital but they don't know whether she'll be able to pull through. I'm so worried, James," she said, through soft tears. "I don't want her to die. I w-want to go home during the summer and spend all my time with her. Sh-she-"

James waited for her to calm down a little and then pulled her into a hug. Usually, Dany wasn't used to a lot of physical contact and tried her best to avoid it. But James was just so warm and caring that she hugged him back. It was strange. She had never been hugged like this by anyone but her mother. James was just an incredibly kind and loving person, and that came out in his hug. It was extremely comforting and she finally understood why his friends were so incredibly loyal to him. He was just that kind of person - so open and generous.

"Thanks," she said after a while. James grinned at her and swung his arm around her shoulder again. "Shit! We're late for Defense! I'm so sorry, James!"

"Don't be, Dany. It won't be the first time for me," he said with a grin. "But now that we've missed the first 15 minutes, it'd be a shame to show up late and disrupt proceedings. What say we skive?"

"Skive?" asked Dany, looking uncomfortable.

"Yeah, we won't get caught and if anyone brings it up, I'll say that you passed out in the middle of the corridor and I was making sure you weren't attacked by any wandering Slytherins."

"How thoughtful," she said with a snort.

"What can I say? I was born this way. Now come on, I'll show you something top secret," he said, gesturing for her to follow him as he moved in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room.

About Lily- you'll find out what's up with her in the next chapter.

And I was mainly trying to establish how different James is from most of the people Dany's known in her life. While she's always been surrounded by introverts and people similar to her in many ways, James is not like that and he is quick to try and make people feel better. He doesn't care about how it might make him look or what people might think of him. He's very secure about warmth and affection - a product of his healthy family life.

Anywho... Please review! xxx