Chapter 19

"It's about bloody morals! That's what this is about!" Sirius said angrily to Peter, pacing his dorm.

Peter nodded and fiddled with a corner of his shirt.

"Was there anything else you heard?" Sirius asked, still pacing.

Peter shook his head. "Just that part about Snape. Lily looked really upset about it. If she goes to the dance with him, the others think Olivia will lose Lily as a friend."

Sirius frowned. "This war we have between us couldn't possibly mean more to her than the friendship she has with Lily. If it does then she's definitely not the girl I thought she was." He said sadly.

Peter shrugged. "I can find out more if you want."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, do that and let me know how she felt about today's little encounter."

"Sirius, can I ask you something?" Peter asked quietly. "If all she is is another notch in the post, why are her feelings important? I mean, a woman's feelings should always be considered I suppose, but you seem to be particularly interested in her. I've never seen you try so hard."

Sirius stared at him. It was a simple question, why was he trying so hard? Usually if a girl didn't melt instantly by his charms he'd just give up and move on to the next unsuspecting victim.

"Thrill of the hunt?" He said, unconvincingly.

Peter left it alone and walked out of the dorm, leaving Sirius to his thoughts.

Certainly she was different, he had known her when they were younger and that history alone made the situation difficult. There was something else though, something he couldn't quite explain. The challenge wasn't driving him any longer, so what was?

Sirius shook his head, trying to get it out of his head. If he stopped thinking about it now, he wouldn't have to come to any conclusions he didn't want to come to. There was no way Sirius Black would ever admit to falling for a girl who drove him absolutely mad. He nodded his head defiantly, there had to be another explanation.

Olivia slammed her way into her dorm room, scaring Lily so bad she let out a scream.

"OLIVIA! What on Earth is the matter with you!" She shouted; a hand on her chest.

"UGH!" Olivia screamed, throwing up her arms in the air wildly. "I DON'T BLOODY UNDERSTAND MEN!"

Lily stared at her friend for a moment and then burst into laughter.

Olivia stared back at her unbelievingly. "And why is this so funny?" She asked angrily.

Lily was laughing so hard she rolled onto her side, tears streaming down her face.

Olivia rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed next to Lily. When she had collected herself Lily put a hand over her mouth and snorted. "I'm sorry Olivia, it's just, it's-" She began laughing again. "It's your own fault!"

Olivia crossed her arms. "And this is why it's so bloody hilarious you can't speak?"

Lily, still laughing, shook her head, trying to calm herself down. "No, no no it's just, the way you said it! You looked so angry and wild and because it's Sirius who is making you mad, I just found it particularly amusing."

Olivia sighed. "Is it out of your system yet?"

Lily frowned. "You're no fun at all. Besides, I think I have every right to be angry with YOU."

Olivia bit her lip. "Honestly, I didn't know you were anti-Severus when I made the deal with him."

"It's the fact that you made a deal with him at all Olivia, you're dragging everyone around you into this mess and it's ridiculous. You and Sirius just need to shag and get it over with."

Olivia's eyes widened. "LILY!"

She shrugged. "What it's true! You both know you want to do it, you're both just too bloody stubborn to admit it!"

"It goes against everything I've been working for." Olivia bristled.

Lily shook her head. "It's pointless. You two have long abandoned the idea of this being a competition to see if he can sleep with you or not, now it's just a competition to see who can hold out the longest."

"I can't believe you're on his side." Olivia pouted.

"I'm not on anyone's side! I'm trying to stay out of it!" Lily countered angrily.

"So what, just give in? Just submit to the inevitable?" Olivia asked sourly.

"It would make everything so much simpler." Lily mumbled.

Olivia glared.

"Alright, well then if this is just a race to the finish I say embrace the inevitable and make him submit first." Lily reasoned.

Olivia grimaced. "Embrace the inevitable." She repeated.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Like you've never thought of it before."

Olivia sighed. "So maybe I have." She laughed a little. "But don't you dare repeat that to anyone! If he ever found out about that, he'd be so full of himself his head would explode."

Lily chuckled. "You're only human. Besides, I think just about everyone in this school has had a fantasy about Sirius Black at one time or another."

"Even you?" Olivia wiggled her eyebrows and Lily laughed. "OH noooooo! Not me! I think I'm the only exception to that rule."

Olivia looked at her thoughtfully. "It's true, I succumbed to his charms pretty early on, but I think I've done exceptionally well holding him at arm's length."

Lily nodded. "This is true. Though it has earned you many enemies amongst the female species."

Olivia groaned. "I swear if Hannah gives me another death glare I'll rip her hair out. I don't understand why she has such a deal against me."

"You know very well why." Lily said matter-of-factly. "She has had a crush on Sirius since the day she met him and here you come in and swoop his attention up right in front of her. You're a threat."

Olivia smiled. "As nasty as she is to me I'm not finding this at all wrong."

Lily shook her head. "You have some sort of perverse joy out of getting his attention don't you?"

Olivia thought about it and smiled wickedly. "You know, I suppose I do." She and Lily laughed together, neither of them noticing a small figure crawling under the gap in the doorway and into the hall.