Chapter 10

James stood alone in the Gryffindor locker room after the quidditch match, thoroughly exhausted. After being down by several points, Gryffindor had finally picked up and James had caught the snitch at the very last possible moment, beating Hufflepuff by thirty points. Had he waited any longer, he could have caught the snitch and still lost. Hufflepuff was getting better, James sighed to himself. He heard a clicking noise behind him, and he quickly wrapped a towel around his waist. His eyes widened.

Olivia stood there, dressed to kill in a turtle-neck, thigh length skin tight, black dress. Her three inch heels looked extremely uncomfortable, but she had no pain on her face, just her usual wicked grin and mischievous eyes.

"Olivia," He said slowly. "You're not allowed in here."

Olivia crossed her arms. "And?" She smiled and stared at him.

James stood there, still only clad in a towel. "Olivia. I'm naked."

"Well if I wanted your help with that, we wouldn't be talking would we?" She said teasingly.

"Could you, you know, give me a minute?" James asked, trying hard not to turn red.

Olivia leaned into a locker and waved her hand, staring at him. "Go on then."

James sighed.

"What, it's not like I've never seen one before." She laughed. Olivia tilted her head. "You sure have grown a lot since I last saw you."

James glared at her. "What do you want Olivia?"

"I need your help. I understand you have a healthy appetite for wagers." Olivia giggled when James paled.

"Damn it Lily." He muttered, sitting down on the bench next to him.

"Don't blame her. You're a man of morals, loose at times but you have more promise than Sirius does, that's why you bet in my favor isn't it? I want you to help me so I can help you."

"You want me to help you sabotage the bet so I can win? I thought I was already winning." James said, confused.

Olivia threw her hair back and smiled. "Oh you're definitely winning, but that's not what I was talking about. You like Evans."

James floundered for words. "Well- it's…you know- I just-"

"Save it." Olivia rolled her eyes. "You be my inside man, spy on your best friend, and I'll be your inside man and spy on my best friend. Win win."

"I don't follow." James eyed her suspiciously. "I thought you were doing just fine keeping him at arms length."

"So he may have gotten under my skin a little." Olivia said nonchalantly, walking in little circles. "I want to make him think that he's winning, and to do that I have to learn how to control my temper. That's where you come in, by telling me what it is that he likes in a girl, what he likes to do. Stupid things like that."

"I don't like this idea; this would mean I'm helping you betray my best friend." James crossed his arms, forgetting the towel. It began to slip and he grabbed at it in a panic, flushing.

Olivia smiled. "You'd be helping me teach him a lesson James. You want to date Evans, don't you? She's not just another conquest. Wouldn't you like to have his support on that relationship? Instead of just having meaningless sex with every woman that passes by, don't you think it's about time he realizes that we have feelings? We have ambitions to not just be another notch on a bedpost you know."

James thought about what Lily had said to him. He didn't want to hurt her, and Olivia was right, maybe he did see himself having a relationship with her. She'd never go for it if Sirius was still jumping every female within a ten mile radius.

"I see your point." He said with a sigh. "I don't like the way you're going about it though."

Olivia frowned. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

James shook his head.

Olivia smiled again and turned to leave. "Brilliant. Suit up sailor, it's going to be a long week."

She turned the corner and James grabbed for his pair of pants. Olivia popped her head back around the corner, "By the way, great game." She said with a devilish smile, laughing as James scrambled to cover himself once again.

Sirius was laying on a loveseat in the common room, distractedly producing bubbles with his wand, and then popping them again with the tip. He heard a giggle from the corner and looked over. It was the girl from Lily and Olivia's dorm, the one who knew just how he liked being scratched behind the ears.

"Hello Hannah." He said brightly, sitting up.

Her eyes went wide and she looked around. Nervously, she walked over and sat down across from him. "H-hi Sirius."

"How are you today?" He asked.

Hannah nearly bubbled over with giggles. "F-fine. How are you?" She was obviously trying to hold back a wave of excitement that could hardly be contained.

"You have stunning eyes Hannah, did you know that?" He said with a heart melting smile.

She could have fainted. Hannah blushed and looked into her hands.

Sirius heard a snort of laughter from behind him. Hannah looked up and frowned. It was Olivia.

"Don't you think it's a bit chilly outside for such an outfit?" Sirius asked.

Olivia grinned. "I don't believe I've ever heard you complain about how little a girl was wearing Sirius."

He shrugged. "I didn't say I was complaining."

"You weren't concerned about my health either." She said with narrowed eyes.

Hannah made a small coughing sound, trying to drag Sirius' attentions back to her.

Olivia noticed, but Sirius was completely ignoring her now.

Poor Hannah, Olivia thought to herself. This girl was finally getting attention from him and she was ruining it for her. Then again, it was probably for the best. She didn't think much of the girl, but she still didn't want to see her get hurt.

"I thought only strippers wore shoes like those." Sirius noted as she came around to sit next to Hannah.

Olivia crossed her legs and looked over at Hannah, who could have been all but crying.

She looked between Sirius and Olivia and knew that her part in the feeble conversation she had attempted was over. Slipping off the loveseat, she waved awkwardly to Sirius and walked away, controlling herself to restore some poise.

When she was out of earshot Olivia dropped the pretense and glared at Sirius.

"She likes you, and you just completely crushed her." She snapped at him.

Sirius looked at his feet. "I didn't realize-"

"You usually don't, do you?" Olivia stood up and began to walk away when Sirius followed after her, grabbing her wrist.

"Why do you care anyways?" He asked her.

"Because I happen to share a room with Hannah, and if you hurt her I'd have to listen to her cry for weeks over you, a person I knew never cared for her to begin with." She crossed her arms.

"I suppose that's fair." He reasoned.

Olivia sighed angrily. "You owe her an apology for ignoring her like that."

"Don't chastise me like a child!" He snapped.

"Stop acting like one!" She yelled back. Olivia wrenched her hand from his and stormed off.

Sirius frowned. He had to break her somehow, she had to have a weakness for him somewhere or she wouldn't be nice to him at all. Sirius knew what he had to do; he had to stop pursuing other girls to show Olivia he only wanted her. He groaned as he realized that wasn't what was bothering him.

He really did only want Olivia.