...

I'd always believed that I would grow up, finish Hogwarts, get a job, and get married. I always thought I would be around twenty two when I got married. But no, my parents had a different idea and that's how I found myself standing in front of one of the Black heirs, dressed as a bride.

Just sixth months earlier I had returned from my sixth year at Hogwarts for my parents to announce that I would soon be the new Mrs. Black, wife of Regulus Black. The wedding was to happen during Christmas break. Obviously, I had been shocked but I had to feign happiness. I smiled and showed gratitude to my parents before rushing upstairs.

Salazar's soul, what had I gotten myself into?

Then, sixth months later, I found myself sitting stiffly in front of a vanity while my mother rushed about, doing my makeup and tugging my hair into a painful hairdo.

"Sit up straighter, you're wrinkling your gown," she hissed and I sat taller as she started to apply insane amounts of blush onto my cheeks.

I resisted the urge to cough as she dusted my cheeks more. She hurried away to grab more makeup and I sighed quietly. My mother came back and started to apply eyeshadow with skilled hands. She moved back for a second before whisking eyeliner on. I sneezed and she poked me in the eye. She scolded me for moving as I stopped my eyes from watering up.

"Now, your hair," she stated while beginning to brush my hair roughly. She tutted when the hairbrush snagged on locks of hair but was eventually able to get the tangles out.

She twisted my hair until it obeyed and soon my normally simple-styled hair was bound into a painful and intricate updo. I felt a headache coming on.

She rushed me out and I practiced the walk she'd instructed me to use. I had to walk stiffly and upright. I took small steps and ignored the way my feet screamed from the heels I was forced to wear. She told me to wait for my time and whisked away.

I walked down the seemingly endless aisle when it was time and watched as eyes turned to follow my movements. I kept my chin up as I finally reached the end and stopped in front of my husband-to-be.

He met my gaze as the ceremony started. I zoned out as we said our vows but snapped back into it when Regulus said the two words that were going to change my life. "I do."

I saw in his eyes that he was also resenting the moment. I looked away and swallowed, stopping myself from wringing my hands in distress. Salazar, my mother would kill me if I started to fidget.

"Do you," the man standing between Regulus and I started. He glanced at me as he stated my name before continuing, "take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

The words rang through my head and the gathered people around us seemed to hold their breath as they awaited my answer. My "I do."

I took a deep breath and met Regulus' gaze once more before making my decision.

I drew myself up to full height and announced calmly, "I don't."

Gasps echoed through the space before cries of outrage. Regulus, on the outside, showed shock but his eyes told a different story. He was happy. I was glad he would be safe, my decision didn't have to do with his influence so the Black family shouldn't punish him.

"What, in the name of Salazar, are you doing?" my mother hissed suddenly into my ear, taking  my wrist into a death grip, "You're embarrassing us all!"

I met her cold blue eyes, "What I'm doing, is saving myself from a bind that would have me held at the side of a man that I don't love."

She gasped and gripped my wrist harder but turned back to the waiting guests, "My dear daughter isn't feeling well, we'll rehold the ceremony tomorrow, yes?"

She hurried me out and apparated us back to the family home before slapping me in the face with such force I stumbled backwards, bringing a hand to gently press to my stinging cheek.

"You will say yes tomorrow, right, dearest?" she asked, the normally loving title filled with menace.

"No, mother, I won't."

Those four words changed my life.

...

Word spread throughout Hogwarts that the heir of the Avery family had been disowned. The cold stares of my fellow Slytherins haunted me through the hallways as I went to classes and headed to the Great Hall.

People mocked during the first few weeks back to the castle after Christmas break. They would shove me over, stomp on my books, hiss insults to my face. They would laugh at me because I had had to move into a small apartment since I had been kicked out of the family home.

I couldn't believe people.

One moment, they followed you around with nice words and invitations but the next, they scorned you with hateful looks and harsh words. Apparently, everyone had only cared about my role as the Avery heir. The rats.

Even my dormmates avoided me when I tried to approach them. Who knew the entire Slytherin house were such stuck up pureblood supremists?

I entered the Great Hall and kept my head ducked as I rushed to the Slytherin table, finding an empty spot. I sat down and, immediately, the people on either side of me shuffled away with looks of disgust. I clenched my jaw and reached for one of the many plates in front of me.

I finished dinner quickly and left the hall in a rush. I didn't feel like returning to the common room or going outside so I decided to wander the empty hallways.

I went up the grand staircase and took a left on a whim. I aimlessly walked through the hallways until I turned down one that was lesser used and found someone sitting on one of the pedestals below a suit of armor.

He looked up a grinned at me, "Another wanderer?"

"Sure."

"Not very enthusiastic, are you?" he asked, hopping off the pedestal.

"Nope."

"Not very fun to talk to, huh?"

I knew he was trying to get a reaction out of me so I responded with a calm, "I guess."

He laughed and I almost smiled. Almost.

"Kind of boring, Avery, you should step up your game," hearing him say my name felt odd. No one had directly talked to me since school had started again... well, a few Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw had but besides them.

"And why would I step up my game?" I asked, "No one would want to pay attention to a girl who had been engaged to a man then rejected him because she wasn't interested."

"Ouch, Avery, that was my brother you were engaged to. Was he boring? Was he annoying? Or was he not handsome enough?" he asked each question with more dramatic tones.

I frowned, "He was okay, I just didn't want to be bound to a man so early. Although I'm sure you should understand that, Black, since you flirt with girls shamelessly then move on within minutes."

"It's not my fault they love my charm," Black defended himself.

"Believe what you please, I should head back to the common room," I turned and started to walk away but paused when I heard him call out.

"Come again, Avery!"

I rolled my eyes and left the hallway, heading back to the Slytherin common room. What did other girls see in that annoying toe rag?

...

A few more days passed and I found myself wandering again while lost in my thoughts. People had stopped mocking me but instead moved onto straight up ignoring me. Which was better, in my opinion.

I didn't notice where my feet were taking me and soon I was back to the hallway where I'd first met Black. I stopped in my tracks when I realized where I'd ended up and spotted Black perched yet again on the pedestal. He hadn't noticed my entrance so I could've walked away but for some reason I didn't.

I approached him and he looked up before smirking, "Couldn't resist me, could you, Avery?"

"Hah, no," I rolled my eyes, standing awkwardly. Why had I walked up to him? I asked myself before having to admit it was probably because he was the only person in Hogwarts who seemed to be willing to talk to me.

"Then why're you back?" he asked, scooting over on the pedestal to make room for me to sit down.

I looked at the now empty space before sliding onto it, "Honestly? I have no idea."

We sat in silence for a while and I pulled on a loose thread on my sleeve. I tugged on it but it just unraveled more so I wrapped it around my finger and gave it a swift pull. It still didn't come off. I fiddled with it more and I didn't notice that Black had leaned over to see what I was doing.

"Just a loose thread, Avery?" he asked with amusement at the sight of my struggle.

"Shut up," I muttered, yanking harder on the thread. It finally came off and I threw the thread away before smoothing my sleeve.

"Congratulations, Avery, you conquered the loose thread," Black announced with a serious tone.

I rolled my eyes, "Such an honor."

"It is, many set out to defeat the loose thread but many return empty handed," Black leaned in closer and said the words with such intensity it made me almost believe him.

I snorted and shoved him away, "You idiot!"

"Hah! I knew you weren't boring, Avery!"

"Sure."

"Never mind, you are boring," Black hopped off the pedestal and held out a hand for me, "Care to join me?"

I eyed his hand suspiciously, "Join you in what, exactly?"

"It's a secret," he smirked.

"Something makes me think that you're going to either drag me into something stupid, show me something incredibly boring, take me back to my common room, or something worse," I commented and took his hand, letting him pull me off the pedestal and lead me down the hallway.

"You'll like it, don't worry," he promised.

"The fact that I met you five days ago is insane."

"It's just my Black charm, Avery," he grinned at me and I slapped his shoulder with an eyeroll.

"Keep telling yourself that."

He led me through the mostly empty hallways and down flights of stairs until I realized where we were going. We were going towards the basements, where the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room was. I eyed him suspiciously but he ignored the looks, instead ducking past a group of chattering fifth years that were standing in the way.

We finished our journey in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit. Black reached out and tickled, yes, tickled a pear. The pear turned into a door handle moments later and he grasped it, tugging it open.

The painting swung open and Black stepped into the space behind it, pulling me along. He closed the painting behind us and walked into the kitchen. House elves were hurrying about, cleaning and cooking, chatting and whatever else they did.

Before we could take many steps a house elf approached us and bowed, "How may we help you, Mr. Black?"

I shot a glare at Black, "Have you been here often?"

"Of course I have, what do you expect?" he smirked before looking at the house elf, "Do you have any pastries or sweets?"

The elf nodded vigorously and before they could even finish the gesture, a group of other house elves scurried forward and presented a basket to Black. He took it gratefully, thanked the elves, then exited the kitchen. He sat down beneath the fruit bowl painting and gestured for me to join him.

"Black, how often do you rob the kitchens?" I asked with annoyance.

"Quite often, actually," he admitted, rummaging through the basket before holding something out to me, "Cauldron cake?"

"Salazar's soul," I muttered before reluctantly taking the offered pastry, exactly how my parents had taught me. I stared at the pastry for a few moments before ripping off a small piece and eating it.

"Is that really how you eat your food?" Black asked, "Why don't you just... bite into it?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

He stared at his own cauldron cake before ripping off a piece and popping it into his mouth, "Godric, you're weird, Avery."

"Thanks," I rolled my eyes.

"No problem."

We quickly ate the basket of food and Black promised he would return it, but I knew he wouldn't from the way he'd said the words. Salazar, I would probably have to hunt him down later and nag him into returning it.

"I should return to the common room," I said, standing up and brushing my skirt off.

He looked up, stashing the basket away, and offered, "I can take you back to your common room?"

"Thanks but no thanks, I don't need to be seen with a Gryffindor," I smiled apologetically when I realized how rude my words sounded, "What I mean is, I don't need to be seen with a troublemaker Gryffindor who makes every girl at Hogwarts swoon."

"And why not? If I'm so incredibly wanted, what's wrong with being seen with me?" Black ran a hand through his hair as if that would have an affect on me.

I shoved his shoulder, "Because your many fangirls would hunt me down for 'stealing their precious Siri' away from them."

He snorted, "Do they really call me that?"

"They also call you an arrogant git."

"I've been called worse."

I didn't know how to respond to his statement so I waved goodbye and set off to the Slytherin common room without another word.

I returned to the common room and headed up to my dorm to retrieve one of my books. When I opened the door one of my dormmates, Thompson, looked up from her bed. She held my gaze for a bit then, with a sad smile, turned away again. I watched as she reached for her nightstand and pulled out a package of something.

"Want some?" she asked, offering whatever it was she held.

"What is it?" I looked hesitantly at the package. Salazar, I wouldn't put it past someone to poison me. We Slytherins were dramatic.

"Just some chocolate, the Lupin boy gave it to me," she opened it and popped one of the chocolates into her mouth, "See? It's fine."

I hesitated for a few more moments before moving towards her and settled next to her. She offered the box of chocolates and I gratefully took one. I'd already eaten a lot of sweets that evening but being shown a bit of kindness was nice.

We ate the chocolate in silence and, when the box was empty, she set it aside and smiled at me, "I'm sorry about all this."

Without another word, she got up and left. Leaving me to my thoughts. I slid off her bed and went to my own, flopping onto it and closer the curtains around it. Salazar, life was confusing. Just a few days ago, Thompson had been silently avoiding me like everyone else but then she and I were suddenly eating chocolates together. Sometimes, I wanted to grab life's shoulders and shake some sense into it.

...

The next evening at dinner I found myself suddenly surrounded by four Gryffindor boys. It was Black and three of his friends. They ignored the glares they were receiving from my fellow Slytherins and made themselves at home at our table.

"Black, what, in the name of Slytherin, are you doing?" I hissed to the boy sitting next to me, noticing the whispers flying down the table.

Salazar, they were whispering about my betrayal.

My gaze snagged on Regulus. My former fiancé. I almost choked on the pumpkin juice I was drinking in surprise. Why did I feel guilty? I never loved Regulus and he certainly hadn't loved me so why was sitting next to his brother odd?

I shoved the thought away and roughly elbowed Black in his side, "You should go. Now."

"Why?" he asked as if he wasn't in the center of the snake's lair. Salazar, it wouldn't surprise me if some Slytherins attacked him at some point for setting foot in their territory.

"Because," I hissed, "You're in 'enemy territory', according to most Slytherins."

"Most?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. But you and your friends should leave."

A boy with messy black hair nudged Black, "She has a point, Padfoot."

Black turned to his other two friends, as if looking for support. One of them shrugged nervously while the other nodded. As soon as he nodded, the nervous-looking one nodded too. He seemed to follow the crowd, not much of a leader.

"Fine, Avery, but your next attempt to get rid of me won't work," Black assured as he stood with his group of friends, "By the way, meet us out front when you're done!"

The four left and the hostile glares of the other Slytherins turned to me. The seats Black and his friends had left remained empty, as if they were contaminated or something.

Honestly, people in general were stupid.

I finished my dinner and, despite the suspicious feeling I had, decided to meet Black where he'd instructed me to. I found the four standing about with bored looks on their faces as if they'd been waiting for hours, which they hadn't.

"Avery, took your sweet time, did you?" Black asked, already walking off.

I followed after him with a snort. The black-haired boy took out a parchment and whispered something to it before tapping his wand against it. Ink spread across it and, from what I could see, it was a map of Hogwarts.

We walked in silence until the boy with the map stuffed the paper away and hissed, "Hide, Filch is coming!"

The five of us scurried into hiding spots as Filch came around the corner with his cat. The two studied the hallway and watched the shadows suspiciously before moving on. We left our hiding spots and the boy took his map out again.

"What is that?" I asked curiously.

He looked at me then at Black, "Nothing. Nothing important."

"Well, that 'nothing' looks very important because it seems like it tells you when people are coming, doesn't it?" from his look of surprise I knew I'd figured it out.

"No," he denied.

We continued in silence until we reached a statue of a one-eyed witch. With the map stuffed away, the boy stepped forward and tapped the witch's hump while muttering something quietly.

To my surprise, the hump opened.

The boy grinned at me and climbed into the opening before disappearing. The other two followed and soon, Black was gesturing for me to go. I stared suspiciously at it before lowering myself into the opening.

I slid down a smooth stone slide before coming to the stop at the beginning of a tunnel. The other three boys were standing there and that's when I realized I had no idea what their names were but I was sneaking around with them. I knew the black haired boy was nicknamed Prongs but that didn't help at all.

"What're your names?" I asked after clearing my throat.

"Lupin," the quieter, smarter looking boy answered.

"Potter, you've probably heard of me," the black-haired boy smirked. I rolled my eyes.

The last boy blinked for a few moments before answering, "Pettigrew."

"All right so Lupin, Potter, Pettigrew and-" I was cut off when Black came sliding down and almost knocked me over. I groaned, "And Black."

"No need for that tone, Avery, I'm just as amazing as the others. Maybe better."

"Sure, let's go. Where're we going, exactly?"

"This tunnel leads to Honeydukes," Lupin said as we started off.

"Why're we going?"

"Moony has a sweet tooth in need of being satisfied and he has a girl he needs a present for," Potter smirked and nudged his friend.

"A girl?" I laughed, "Who's the lucky lady?"

Black called from ahead, "It's your dormmate, Thompson! Who knew you Slytherins were so attracting?"

I snorted, "We're not attracting, people usually describe us as vicious. And, Thompson? Really?"

Lupin flushed and nodded, "Yeah."

"How did you meet?"

"Rather not talk about it," he murmured.

"Okay, suit yourself," I lowered my voice and whispered to him, "Here's a tip for you, she loves dark chocolate."

He looked at me, "How do you know?"

"It's something she shared during one of our late night talks in fifth year, she also admitted she'd told no one else besides my dormmates and I for some reason."

"Thank you."

What seemed like a long time later we stopped at the end of the tunnel. Black reached up and pushed aside what seemed like a floor tile and we climbed through. He set the tile back and we silently walked up to the main level.

Lupin went off to the chocolate while Potter and Black dragged me over to look at the cockroach clusters. Salazar, boys were gross. Pettigrew simply wandered around.

"We should give some of these to Snivellus," Potter remarked, earning a laugh from Black.

I rolled my eyes as the two snagged some off the shelf then realized something, "Hold on, you are going to pay for these, right?"

"Of course, Avery, we always leave coins on the counter," Black assured me.

The two wandered off and I started to look at the fizzing whizzbees. They looked good so I took a package of them before heading to the counter to drop off some coins. I was stopped, however, by Black who appeared out of literally nowhere.

"What've you got there, Avery?" he asked.

"Fizzing whizzbees."

He snatched them out of my hand and checked the price before heading off to the counter. I trailed after him and hissed, "Black, don't you dare. I can pay myself."

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you buy your own stuff?" he asked, already placing coins on the counter.

"Who said you were a gentleman?" I retorted, taking my candy back with a glare.

"Who said I wasn't?" he smirked.

"You're annoying."

"Thank you, Avery, that's an amazing compliment."

I rolled my eyes and waited for the others to finish their shopping. Lupin returned a few minutes later with a pile of chocolate goods while Pettigrew came back empty-handed. Potter obviously had the cockroach clusters for 'Snivellus'. Whoever that was.

We headed back down to the basement and climbed into the tunnel. Salazar, we had a long walk ahead of us.

...

Ever since that secret Honeydukes trip, the marauders, as they called themselves, seemed to adopt me into their group. Honestly, it was odd. My friends before the... incident were always Slytherins. My own kind. My fellow snakes. But they were avoiding me so I guess being friends with Gryffindors was better than nothing.

The time I spent with them still made me feel guilty, I had been engaged to Sirius's brother and now I was running around with Sirius himself? If my family knew of my behavior they would've killed me. Well, actually, they would've taught me how to correctly act then they'd kill me.

This may sound cheesy, but the marauders turned into a second family for me. We snuck out at night, stood up for each other, laughed out on the sprawling lawns, and much more. It was insanely fun, especially when others decided to bother us.

On such an occasion, we were sitting in the courtyard and I was trying, and failing, to get James and Sirius to do their homework and some random blokes came up to us.

"Oi, look at the outcasts!" one of them laughed. The others joined in.

"Oi, look at the idiots!" I copied the way they'd pointed at us. James, Sirius, and Peter laughed and Remus smiled.

"Watch your mouth, Avery, you hold no power anymore."

James snorted, "Does it look like she cares?"

"I would, if I were her. Who would give up fame and riches because she didn't love her fiancé?" another boy scoffed, "And who would run away from home?"

Sirius's eyes sparked with anger and he retorted, "Honestly, I would rather have a son who ran away than have a son like you."

"That's saying something, at least I don't bring disgrace."

Remus stepped in with a comment, "You lose many points for Slytherin a lot, I wouldn't be speaking if I were you."

The group of idiots in front of us stood speechless for a few moments before turning and walking away. Salazar, that was an amazing way to lighten the mood in the marauder's group. We laughed off the experience after the gits had disappeared from view.

"Bloody blokes," Sirius remarked.

"Bloody rats," I corrected.

"Bloody pigs," James jumped in.

Remus thought for a moment before adding, "Bloody erklings." We all turned to him with confused looks. What in the name of Salazar was an erkling? Was that something I was supposed to know? I had a mini panic attack until Lupin explained, "It's a three-foot tall creature with high pitched cackles that devours children."

"You win," we all laughed. Remus was definitely way smarter than us and, therefore, had better wording for insults.

We laughed and joked for a while longer until I realized I had a book that was due soon. I said goodbye and headed off to the library. The hallways were mostly empty so I was able to walk freely without dodging others and ignoring glares.

My footsteps echoed as I turned a corner and bumped into someone. The someone hurried back with murmured apologies before looking up. That's when I realized who it was.

"Regulus?"

The name left my mouth before I could think and he met my eyes.

"Avery."

I cleared my throat, "How've you been?"

"Well enough," he answered quickly. I could tell he was lying.

"That's great," I attempted a smile which he tried to mimic.

We stood in silence for a bit then he cleared his throat, "You know, Avery..."

"Hm?" I prompted him when he fell silent.

"You know you can go for Sirius, right? I wouldn't feel betrayed," he said the words quickly and I couldn't help but make an inhuman sound in surprise.

"I - excuse me?"

"I know how you two look at each other."

"Uhm, no, just no. I - well, I have to get going. It was nice chatting with you again, Regulus," I coughed and dodged past him to speed away to the library.

Salazar, now I felt even more confused. I didn't like Sirius, he was a friend!

...

I forgot that conversation, well, avoided the thought of that conversation for the next few months leading up to Easter break. The marauders and I continued our mischief with ease and people started to ease up around me again. Well, people being Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and some Gryffindors. My fellow Slytherins were still being stupid.

The Sunday before Easter break started, Sirius and James approached me while I was sitting outside. They settled down next to me and started up a conversation.

We chatted for a while until James turned to me, "Avery, want to spend Easter break with Padfoot and I?"

I thought for a bit, "Well, sure, I didn't have any plans otherwise."

The two smiled at me and the conversation continued.

Spending the break with the James and Sirius sounded like fun, right?

And it was.

...

The Potters house was incredibly different from my own household. They were so... loose about everything. At one point, I'd accidently dropped a glass on the floor and they brushed it off like it was nothing. Nothing! If I'd dropped a glass in the Avery household, then I would've been heavily scolded.

Salazar, sometimes being a member of the Sacred Twenty Eight was more annoying than everyone assumed it was. Although, I knew that some of the families were nice like the Abbotts,  the Longbottoms, the Weasleys, etc. Others were plain horrible though.

During my two weeks at the Potters, I have to admit I loosened up. During the months at Hogwarts I'd still been a bit uptight from my days in a strict family but the Potter's household was different.

"Dinner!" a voice called from downstairs and I immediately heard James and Sirius thundering down the stairs.

I rolled my eyes and followed more slowly. The stairs creaked slightly under my feet as I made my way down to the dining room. When I entered, James, Sirius, and Mr. Potter were seated while Mrs. Potter set dishes out.

I took my seat next to Sirius and he set an arm on the back of my chair then leaned in to whisper, "Different, isn't it?"

"Definitely," I admitted.

"For the first few months here I didn't know how to act."

"That makes two of us, although it didn't take me a few months."

Dinner began and we paused the conversation to serve ourselves some of the delicious food. Mrs. Potter was a great cook and dinners were always fun.

"So, Avery, our seventh year is almost done, what're you planning on doing?" Sirius asked after a few minutes.

"Honestly? No idea, what about you?"

"I don't know either."

I looked to James and he shrugged too. Clearly we all had to do some planning soon. Remus had a plan he'd have liked to go through with but because of his... status, he couldn't. I felt sorry for him, it wasn't like he would suddenly go all werewolf in the middle of work! I was seriously questioning people's sanity at that point.

The three of us sat in silence for a bit until I blurted, "I was thinking a ministry job would be nice, actually."

"A ministry job? Are you mad?" Sirius asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. It just seems like a good job, you know? It has good pay."

"Yes, but ministry jobs demand a lot of time," Mrs. Potter added, "You could be stuck at the office for the entire day with tons of work still left. Is that really what you want?"

"It seems better than getting married off to some bloke halfway through my seventh year," I said without thinking. I kicked myself before sending an apologetic look to Sirius, "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"It's fine."

"Avery has a point, ministry jobs do pay well," James said.

"Except, why would she want to work? Actually, why do we want to work? We all have plenty of gold in our vaults," Sirius said sensibly for once.

"Yeah, but sitting around all day doesn't sound very fun," I replied.

He made a face, "Work isn't fun either."

"Work is better than sitting around being lazy or having to play the role of loving wife to some git," I rolled my eyes.

"All right, you three, you can continue your argument later, right now it's dinner time and we should be calm," Mrs. Potter butt in.

We quieted down and ate the rest of dinner in relative silence.

To be honest, the two weeks at the Potters involved lots of arguing.

...

School resumed normally after the break and I was able to reconnect with some of my dormmates. Mostly Thompson though. She spent a lot of time with the marauders too, mostly Remus.

Her and Remus were just perfection, not that they would admit it. I happily reminded them of it a lot though, despite their annoyance. Don't blame me, you would've done it too! Yeah, I'm looking at you!

I found myself studying in the library on a Friday evening since N.E.W.T.s were coming up. I should've started to study earlier but no, I had been insanely lazy. I opened a new book and started to take notes on it when someone slid into the seat next to me and read over my shoulder.

"Avery, you're still boring," the someone said and I rolled my eyes.

"Sirius, go away. I'm studying for N.E.W.Ts, which are important."

He ignored my words and rested his chin on my shoulder. I stiffened at the gesture but he ignored it, or didn't notice it. I went back to taking notes so we sat in silence. Salazar, what did the man want if he was willing to watch me take bloody notes?

"What do you want, Black?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Sure, want do you want?"

He took his chin off my shoulder and leaned back in his chair, "Well, I want you to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow."

"Wait - what?" I dropped my quill and gave him a startled look.

"You heard me, I know you did. So, what's your answer?"

I stared at him in utter shock, "Black, what's gotten into you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, picking up my quill and attempting to twirl it between his fingers.

"Since when did you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Since I asked you?"

I rolled my eyes, "You're annoying."

"And you're going to Hogsmeade with me," he stood up with a smirk, "See you at ten tomorrow."

He walked off without another word and only after he had disappeared did I realize he'd stolen my quill. The nerve of that man!

I looked around the library and spotted Remus sitting at another table. Why hadn't I noticed him there before? I picked up all my stuff and joined him at his table. He glanced up at me before returning to the notes he was reviewing.

"Remus, do you have a spare quill?" I asked, setting my parchment out again.

He slid a quill over to me and I began to work until curiosity got the better of me. I set my work aside, promising myself I'd do more the next evening, and turned to look at Remus.

"I have to ask you something."

He looked up and set his notes aside, "Hm?"

"Do you, uh, well, do you know what happened to Sirius?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, with a small knowing glint in his eyes.

"Why's he suddenly asking me out?"

He smiled, "He did it, then? Took him a while."

"What?" I felt my cheeks heating up and I wanted to hurry away.

"He's been telling Prongs, Wormtail, and I about it for a while," he returned to his notes, "I'll let him explain the rest."

I was then left to my thoughts. Why hadn't I noticed before? Salazar, I felt like an idiot.

...

The next morning I ate breakfast quickly before heading out to the carriages, where I assumed Sirius would meet me. I waited for a good fifteen minutes before he appeared.

I spotted him and called out, "What in the name of Salazar took you so long?"

"Beauty can't be rushed," he answered, coming up to me before leading me to a carriage.

We climbed in and I rolled my eyes, "Are you really wearing all black?"

"Black never goes out of fashion," he replied.

I rolled my eyes again. Sirius loved making puns, they were often either horrible or downright hilarious. The carriage set off and, honestly, it didn't feel any different from the other times we'd gone to Hogsmeade. Except, the other times we'd been joined with Remus, Peter, James, and sometimes Thompson or Evans.

When the carriage pulled to a stop, Sirius climbed out first then held out a hand for me. Which I ignored as always. It may've seemed rude but it was just something we did, you know? Before I could fully climb out by myself, however, he took my hand and helped me out, saying that since we were on a proper date he should act proper.

I snorted at his statement but let him do his thing. Which meant I ended up with his arm around my waist as we walked down the street. He was acting as though the gesture was extremely normal while I was internally freaking out. How was I supposed to act? How would others react to us? Would they be-? Salazar, stop that! I scolded myself. Why should I care about what others think?

We headed through the bustling streets until we reached the Three Broomsticks. Sirius led me inside and gestured for me to take a seat at an empty table. I sat down while he went off to order drinks.

A minute or two later, he returned with two butterbeers. He set one down in front of me before taking a seat, "So, Avery, how is this day so far?"

"Normal," I replied, taking a sip from my drink.

"Really?" he leaned closer with a smirk, "I know when you're lying, Avery, I've known you long enough. Plus, you're a horrible liar."

I snorted, "Guess you caught me."

He reached for my hand, "I did, and now you're stuck with me."

"That doesn't sound bad," I admitted.

He smirked and raised my hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss to it. I flushed and pulled my hand away.

"Flustered now, Avery? Care to announce those feelings to me?"

"I don't."

...

Honestly? I'm not sure how to feel about this one. I loved the beginning and the idea of it but the actual storyline? I disliked it. This is also my shortest oneshot so it's kind of disappointing in general, if you know what I mean. Also, remember Thompson? Look out for a oneshot connected to her! I've realized it's easier to write for certain characters than others. It was easy to write Rivalries and Pranking Partners but Enchanted and I Don't were harder. Anyway, could y'all give me feedback for my writing? Like, what should I change? What should stay the same?

...

[Word Count: 6108]

...