Sirius POV

The next time I saw Adrienne was up in the Astronomy tower, though it was about three in the morning. I was going up to look for Remus, since that's where he tends to go the night before the full moon, but instead saw her perched up on the balcony with a muggle contraption in her hands.

"How'd you get that past Dumbledore?" I ask, blinking.

She jumps, her grey eyes locking on me. "He charmed it for me, so that it would work on the school grounds."

"What is it?"

The corners of her mouth tug up, as if she's about to smile. But she doesn't. "A camera."

"Oh. It's so small."

She nods, raising it to her face to take another picture of the grounds. I take the chance to step closer to her. "You know, this is one of my favorite places."

She looks to me. "Yeah? For what?"

"Snogging." Her eyes narrow again, rage buried under annoyance and – even a little pain? I raise my hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry. I was kidding."

"Right," Adrienne says, putting the camera back in her bag and turning to leave.

I reach a hand out, grabbing her wrist lightly. "Adrienne, wait." She looks to me. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to you to make you so mad at me all the time."

"Okay." She pulls her arm away, walking out of the tower. I sigh heavily, returning to the dorm.

"Find him?" James asks.

"No, but I saw Adrienne there."

"Did you say anything stupid?" Peter asks.

"I guess . . . she's always so mad around me."

"I wonder why."

"Shut up, Wormtail."

"Maybe your charm has worn off," James says, grinning.

"Impossible!" I gasp.

"Then why isn't she falling for it?"

"She will," I say stubbornly. "I'll have her falling head over heels for me."

"Pfft, I bet I could charm her faster than you. Even Remus could."

"Is that a challenge?"

"It is indeed."

"Then I accept it. By holiday break, she'll be putty in my hands."

Suddenly it was October, and I had made no progress in my plans. Every time I'd try to talk to Adrienne, she'd give me one of her powerful stares. Sometimes she'd scoff like she did the first day in Potions, before telling him that he's 'just like him'. Whoever him is.

For some reason, I find myself putting more effort than usual into this. I'm constantly pushing people out of chairs to sit next to her, though she never appreciates this. Instead, she huffs and turns her back to me. Damn, damn, damn. I'm going to lose this stupid challenge.

Just then, I see a certain black-haired short girl. I speed up through the crowd, falling into step next to her. "Hello there, Adrienne," I say in my best, handsomely deep voice.

"Go away," she says bluntly. God, I love American accents. They're hilarious.

"Only if you ask nicely," I say sweetly.

"Fuck off."

The smile melts off of my face. I grab her arm and pull her into an empty classroom, kicking the door shut behind me. Surprisingly, her eyes aren't full of anger like usual. Instead they're full of panic and fear as she struggles to pull her arm away. I let go of her arms, though I charm the door to unlock at only my touch.

"Let me out, Sirius." Her voice is scared. I don't like it.

"No," I say stubbornly. "Not until you tell me what I did to make you hate me."

"I don't hate you," she says, getting that look she gets when she's thinking. Her eyes stare into nothing and she rubs her fingers together. Sometimes she rubs her forehead or arm. "You should hate me." She looks even more nervous. Her hands are shaking. She never looks like this in public.

"What? Adrienne, no. Why would I hate you?" I decide to make my move, striding forward and taking her hands. "I really like you, actually."

She stares into my eyes for a moment, almost searching them. Suddenly, her eyes get their usual rage and she yanks her hands away. "Stop lying to me."

I frown. Can she see through me that easily? I almost feel guilty. Almost. "Look, Adrienne, I'm sorry."

She huffs. I see pain flicker once again in her eyes before returning to anger. "You are just like him! I knew it."

"Like who!? God, you're so confusing!" I throw my hands up to run through my hair. She seems to register this as me about to hit her. She squeaks and stumbles away from me, arms shielded up above her face. I stare at her in confusion. "Adrienne . . . Adrienne, I wouldn't hurt you." Her eyes narrow pointedly. "Physically, I mean."

"Please let me out."

I look her over, biting my lip in thought. With her in this condition, she won't tell me anything. I walk over to the door and opening it for her. She gets up, beginning to walk past me. I grab her shoulder lightly, leaning down so that my lips brush her ear. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

She appears unfazed, instead walking faster. By the time I get out of the room, she's nowhere to be found. I head back to the room, collapsing onto my bed and groaning.

"No luck?" Remus asks.

"None," I say, throwing my hands in the air. "She's insane and so, so confusing. One second she's angry and then the next she's terrified."

"Terrified?" James blinks. "Why?"

"She thought I was going to hit her."

"Hit her?" Remus asks sharply, sitting up. "Were you?"

"No! Of course not! I tried to apologize and everything."

"Maybe you should use a different approach," he suggests. "Make her brownies or something. Cupcakes."

I huff, dropping my head onto my pillow. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to the kitchens.