Summary: Diora Avery never expected to fall in love with Sirius Black, but she did. This is the story of how their relationship came to fruition

Author's Note: These are a collection of drabbles focusing on the highlights of a growing relationship. These are not in chronological order. Naturally, this is AU.

APRICITY: The Warmth of The Sun in Winter

First Touch

Diora Avery prided herself being a good student, had no other option being one really but she prided herself nonetheless. It was the one thing she was able to assert herself with. Of course, being human and all, there are times where she needed help and unlike those she personally knew, Diora was okay asking for help. Most of the time it consisted of approaching her professor after a class who would then guide her to the proper resources. Sometimes, those resources came through the help of books or through some tutoring. Rarely was it ever a surprise to how she received the help.

So when she asked professor Flitwick if there was a way she could get help with the spell she was having problems with, she was more than surprised to learn who was going to help her.

Of all the six years she's been in Hogwarts, she had never personally worked alongside Sirius Black. From what she knew of him, and this was mostly through observation alone, she would have not considered him a studious person. Unlike his friend Remus Lupin who she had studied with before, she had always seen Sirius as someone who wasn't as serious with his studies.

Clearly she was proven wrong because he definitely knew what he was doing when he placed his hand over her own. So to say that Diora was not intimidated by his closeness when he decided the best way to learn to properly flick her wand, would be a lie.

For one, she knew of Sirius Black — everyone did. Not only for his incredible good looks but for his group of friends, particularly James Potter. Unlike James who evidently made it well-known that he only had eyes for one particular girl, Sirius was notoriously known for being flirtatious and not being able to stay in a long-term relationship with any of the girls he dated. Not that Diora was keeping an eye on that, but it was fun to gossip when the subject came up. Given how long she knew of Sirius and his womanizing ways, Diora considered herself immune to his physical charms.

So was having him this close to her making her nervous? Yes but it also helped her learn the precise moment she needed to flick her wand.

It also surprised her that she wasn't holding her breath though that would have been counterproductive on her part if she did.

"Okay, now try it yourself," he whispered down to her ear before she felt him step away from her.

Considering Professor Flitwick was in his office that adjoined the classroom, there really wasn't a need for soft whispers from his part. Which only added to this somewhat strange interaction they were having.

Standing at a distance from the practice dummy, Diora held out her hand and uttered the spell remembering to flick her wrist at the last letter she uttered.

A bright blue lighting bolt shot out from the tip of her wand and hit the center of the dummy, causing the wheel it stood on to reel back at the strength of her spell.

"Yes!" She exclaimed a bit too excitedly as she positioned herself once more and uttered the spell again and again one hit after the other. After the fifth time, she dropped her arms to her side and glanced over her shoulder and with a small smile she said to him, "I owe you one."

With his arms crossed over his chest as he steadily observed her, he nodded in reply with a soft smile of his own.