SIRIUS AND BETTY'S date had been a great success. The boy had followed every single advice that Claudia had given him, and the result of that was that both Sirius and Betty were over the moon.

Naturally that also involved plenty of sneaking around to be alone, and talk. At least for the most part.

Betty had followed the idea that Claudia had come up with a few weeks back, the one were she wouldn't kiss Sirius on the first date, which he respected. Instead, during their evenings together, they got to know each other.

Sirius Black was doing something new, and he liked it more than one would assume.

So, when the pair were out doing god knows what on a Wednesday evening just about four days after their first date, they needed a place to be. And they needed it fast because Lily and another prefect were just around the corner.

That's when Sirius had an idea.

"Come on", he whispered to Betty as he took her hand and led her to the the perfect hiding place; the Room of Requirement.

And there it was, the door that appeared out of nowhere that would lead them to their hideaway.

"Merlin's beard", Betty whispered as Sirius led her in there. The room was pretty much empty, except for a leather couch as well as a record player and plenty of records.

"You found the Room of Requirement", she said amazed she looked around the room.

"Yeah, James and I did in first year when we were hiding from Minnie", he explained. "This is the perfect spot for mostly everything."

"I can see that."

Betty walked up to the records and flicked through them; only to find the album Solo by Frankie Valli. She recalled the nights spent in the common room with Claudia singing his songs and dancing around when they were younger. She was more free back then. Happier.

She still sang the songs and tapped her feet to the beat, but it wasn't like it used to be.

"Find anything?" Sirius asked her as he walked up next to her.

"Frankie Valli", Betty said with a smile. "Claudia's absolute favourite."

"Is he good?"

"Yeah, he is. Claudia would tell you that you haven't lived unless you've heard "Can't take my eyes off you".

"Well then, Frankie Valli it is", Sirius grinned as he grabbed the record from her and turned it on.

That night Sirius and Betty had their first kiss.

•••

"So, what did he say?" Inez asked Claudia as the two sat chatting in the common room by the fire.

Inez was referring to Evan, who had cornered Claudia after her Arithmancy class and spoken about their "date".

"He said that I owe him a next one, but I told him that he was the one who left and not me." She said with an annoyed tone. "I think I've got him off my back for a while now, but I need to make sure he doesn't have a reason to force me on another date."

"Wait... he forced you?" Inez asked befuddled. "I thought you said you agreed to get him off your back?"

"Well, he was kind of threatening me a bit, but he's off my back now so it doesn't matter", Claudia explained with a grimace in a bad attempt at assuring her friend that everything was just fine.

"Threatened you!" Inez repeated concerned.

"He saw me prank them and then the whole Pandora and Lily thing", she shrugged. "But it's fine now, so please don't worry about it."

"Claudia, how could I possibly not worry?"

"I get it, just know that you don't have to worry right now."

"Alright", she said, defeated. "Do you think Betty will be back soon?"

"Probably."

As if on cue, Betty stormed into the common room with a bright smile.

"He kissed me!" She squealed as she started jumping up and down like a kid.

"He did?" Claudia said in a happy tone as she jumped off the couch and threw her arms around her best friend as she nodded excitedly. "Look at you! Becoming a woman", Claudia said dramatically.

"Womanhood doesn't come from having your first kiss", Inez said sharply, catching both of her friends off guard with her cold tone.

"You're right", Claudia said as she nodded suspiciously. "I haven't even had mine and I'm more than a woman, I'm a lady", she said proudly as she posed for her friends.

"Merlin, you're weird", Inez chuckled as she got up and patted Betty on the back. "How was he?"

"Perfect", Betty sighed dreamily. "I could kiss him every minute for the rest of my life for all I care."

"Woah, already on future-basis?" Inez said dramatically.

"I hope so", she smiled. "Anyways, how come none of us have gotten kissed until now? We are perfectly kissable!"

"Hey! Speak for yourself! I've been kissed plenty of times", Inez said offended.

"Wait! I'm the only one left?" Claudia said worriedly as she walked back to the couch and threw herself on it. "That is so tragic."

"Well, you do have Slytherins watching you like hawks, so you don't need to worry", Betty pointed out. "It will come right on time."

"Then why hasn't it happened yet?" Claudia sighed as she buried her face in one of the pillows.

"Because of your brothers smartie!" Inez pointed out. "If anything I think you're the one that most likely would have been kissed if it weren't for your brothers."

"Tell me about it", she sighed. "Anyways, tell us everything right from the start!" She said to Betty in an excited tone.

So then Betty told them everything - from the music playing to how it felt to where they were when it happened.

"The Room of Requirement", Claudia said as her lips curled together as she thought of something.

"What?" Her friends asked in unison.

"Don't you think that would be the perfect hiding place?" She smiled excitedly.

•••

It was. I truly was the perfect hiding place for Claudia, away from her brothers and their fellow Slytherins.

So there she was in the afternoon the next day, alongside Lily and Marlene, revising intently as they prepared for their upcoming O.W.L.s. Though several months away, Lily stated that preparing early for exams like those was the only way to do it.

The room was perfectly fixed for a study session. It knew just what they needed, much to Claudia's excitement.

"So..." Lily said after they had been studying for a while. "How well do you know Potter and his friends?"

Claudia was caught of guard as she said that, because she didn't really know them at all. She had spoken to all of them on very rare occasions - and even so she was associated with them plenty.

"Not at all", Claudia shrugged. "I've barely spoken to them, they're just always around I guess. Why'd you ask?"

Now, one would maybe assume that Lily was asking because of a certain boy with round glasses, but it was quite the opposite. She was thinking about a boy with messy brown hair and scars all over him.

Okay, maybe she was thinking about a boy with glasses as well, but she would never admit that.

"Just... making conversation", she said with a smile.

"Okay, but sadly enough you're gonna have to make conversation with Marlene instead because I have patrols", Claudia said as she stood up and collected her things, including her new book "Jane Eyre".

"You're reading Jane Eyre?" Marlene asked and Claudia nodded. "Is it any good?"

"Well, I only just started it since I just finished Dorian Gray, but I'd say it's really good so far", she smiled as she continued to collect her things.

Lily realised who she had seen reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" the night before with a faint smile on his face in the Gryffindor common room, which caused her to become even more eager for something specific.

"See you later!" Claudia said as she left the room.

Lily waited a while to make sure she was gone before she started speaking:

"I have a theory."

•••

Lucky Claudia. She was patrolling with none other than Nolan idiot Clarke.

"Hello, Maple", he said as she approached him with a stone cold face.

"Hello, Nolan."

And then, they patrolled. Nolan gave out harsh punishments to each and every single person he saw strolling the halls, Claudia giving out more fair and reasonable ones.

They walked in a harsh silence - Claudia thinking about every possible way he could yell at her as soon as possible.

But he didn't. Well, not for the first thirty minutes at least.

Evan hadn't told him about the hex he received, out of pure embarrassment, but he had told him about the fact that Claudia refused a second date.

"Go on a second date with Evan", Nolan eventually said as the patrol was coming to an end.

"What?" She hissed as she broke out of her trance, in which she thought about old memories.

"You heard me the first time, I don't need to repeat it", he said sternly.

"No!" She exclaimed. "I'm not going anywhere near him! Ever again!"

"You are, your father would be pleased."

"I don't care what my father thinks!"

"You should!" He yelled.

"Why?"

"Because he is your father!"

"That's not a valid reason when your father hates you", she said in a lower voice than previously.

"You need to care, because when we go back for Christmas I will tell them all about your weird behaviour for these past few months! And you will need a way out of it!"

"What weird behaviour?" She asked in an annoyed tone. "All I have done is speak to a boy like one time, and hung out with a very nice girl who is far better than most people in this castle! And I'm friends with a girl who managed to punch you, but that's more on you than it is on me, right?"

"That's enough for him to be upset with you and you know that! I'm being nice here!"

"Nice? Nice! Seriously? This is your way of being nice?"

"I'm giving you a way out!"

"Well, I do not care! And stop watching me like an eagle all the damn time, I can take care of myself!"

"No, you can't!" He yelled.

"I can, and I have my entire life! So leave me alone!" She yelled back as she left him to retreat to her dorm.

Nolan was not going to leave her alone, there was no denying on that.

Because he had an idea.

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a/n:
both nicolas and regulus will be more in the story eventually...