50: Sirius Black - An Ordinary Girl

Warning! This is slightly longer than I intended it to be...

House: Hufflepuff

 I sat at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall at breakfast time, but my attention wasn't on food. It was instead on someone very specific sat at the Gryffindor table, and his name was Sirius Black. He was handsome, charming and always wore and irresistible smile. His gorgeous black hair and the way he tied it up into messy buns and ponytails made my heart beat fast. He was troublesome and playful as well as fiercely loyal when it came to his friends, something which I admired.

My feelings for Sirius were intense, them eating me up inside. He'd always be on my mind and would refuse to leave, but he didn't even know who I was. I was a plain girl with no outstanding feature. I wasn't popular, I wasn't beautiful, I wasn't intelligent, I wasn't a prefect, I didn't play sports - I was a normal girl of average height with (natural h/c) hair and dull (e/c) eyes. There wasn't anything interesting about me at all, meaning there was no reason as to why Sirius would ever consider me a friend, let alone consider me.

He had all the friends and girlfriends he needed even without me. It hurt me inside but it wasn't rare to see him with his arm slung over a girls shoulder. What was even more painful was that the girl seemed to change every month. I was someone who would want a solid relationship - not that I'd ever had any before. He however seemed like the type who was more into having fun, changing girlfriends without a care in the world.

"You're not still pining over him are you?" One of my close friends, Gabe, asked as he sat next to me on the Hufflepuff table.

"No, of course not," I lied, turning my attention to my breakfast.

"You're a terrible liar (y/n)," he scoffed and I rolled my eyes.

"Give her a break, you were that way about me before we started dating," Gabe's girlfriend, another one of my close friends, Maria said as she sat down on my other side. I noticed Gabe blush which made Maria and I chuckle.

"Yeah but you weren't like Black at all! Plus you were with Black, wasn't he an asshole?" Game counter-acted his girlfriend.

"No, we were in third year and kissed, like, twice. There was nothing between us. He's much less of a player than you think Gabe, he's really matured, I just think you're protective over the girls you care about," Maria said and Gave huffed.

"Is that so wrong? (y/n) you could do way better than him-,"

"No (y/n), you should try and go for it with him-,"

"No she shouldn't!"

"Yes she should!"

"Guys would you please keep your voices down!" I hissed at them as they had started to attract a lot of attention. "I don't think I'm gonna do anything. After all, he doesn't even know who I am..."

"You need to have more confidence in yourself. Plus we've been at this school for seven years, it'd be kind of rude of him not to know who you were," Maria said and I sighed.

"Look, we're gonna be late for class. Lets hurry up and eat," I said, desperately wanting to change the topic of conversation. This thankfully worked and the two of them instead debated over where to celebrate their two year anniversary. I on the other hand found my eyes wandering over to where Sirius was sitting with his close friend James Potter, the two of them messing about like they always did. Maria was right - Sirius had matured in comparison to previous years, but he still liked to tease and flirt with girls constantly.

"You do really like him don't you," Maria nudged my arm as she sat next to me in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"I can't do anything about it Maria, he's way out of my league and he won't be interested in me in the slightest," I said honestly.

"Well why don't you learn about some of his interests?" She suggested, tapping her chin.

"His interests?"

"Yeah, perhaps if you become interested in something he likes, he'll notice you more," she said and I thought for a moment, it sounding like a good idea.

"Okay... but what?"

She smirked wickedly, and I had a feeling she already had a plan in place. "I have just the thing."

- Timeskip -

"Maria I can't do this!" I shouted out at her, being thirty foot in the air and clinging onto the broomstick tightly. "Maria!"

"You can, it's not that hard," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Of course you'd say that, you're the schools best seeker!" I shouted and she laughed.

"Okay, lets start slightly lower. Lean forward a little and your broom will go down," she instructed and I did as was told. My heart rate lowered to a normal rate as I was now closer to the ground, and I breathed out a sigh in relief. "Lets try some basic exercises, do what I do," she said, showing me how to fly. I tried to copy her but it was much harder than I first anticipated. The broom jolted in random directions and I almost fell off four times. Maria seemed to find this comical which I didn't appreciate, and I wondered if this was actually the way to catch Sirius' attention. Just learning the sport is all well and good, but how was I supposed to get him to notice that fact if I wasn't on the team?

When darkness fell I let out a sigh of relief, feeling incredibly tired. I was impressed that Maria was able to keep this up almost every day. "Is this really the way to catch his attention?" I asked skeptically and Maria chuckled.

"It's only the first night remember (y/n), you're gonna get better and you'll then be able to catch his eye," she said confidently.

"But how? It's not as if he's ever gonna see me play," I said and she smirked her familiar wicked smirk.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan," she said.

"Oh no... I don't like the sound of that," I said and she laughed.

"Don't worry, everything will work out I'm sure of it!" She said, looking the brooms away in the broom closet. "We'll just keep on practicing, you'll get better over time."

I was still skeptical but I decided to humour her, hoping that her plan wasn't too devious.

- Timeskip -

A month had passed and I had gotten better at the sport. I was now flying much higher, and was able to catch the quaffle mid-flight. I was scared to fly with just one hand but I was slowly getting used to it, however tonight was the first time I was practicing on my own. It was Maria and Gabe's anniversary and they had finally settled on a moon-lit picnic near the Black Lake, but she insisted that I practiced with her broomstick, the nimbus 1980. It was the fastest, most advanced broom on the market which intimidated me immensely, and the fact she had let me use it on my own intimidated me even more.

I opened up the case which contained the quidditch balls, the bludgers battering around like crazy. We had worked with bludgers before, so I took one of the bats and mounted the broom. I clicked the release button, the bludger flying high into the air. I mounted the broom and flew high, the nimbus being sensitive to any form of body movement. I ended up going higher than expected, bypassing the bludger which immediately chased after me. I was so focused on avoiding the bludger that I didn't notice another presence on the pitch down below.

Despite the broom being quick the bludger was still able to catch up with me, and it hit me square on the shoulder causing me to drop the bat and fall from the broom. I managed to catch the broom however, and was dangling from it sixty feet in the air. Panic overcame me as the sheen on the nimbus made it difficult to grip. I was slipping, slipping fast until I couldn't hold on anymore.

Naturally I screamed as I fell, seeing the ground get closer to me at a rapid pace however suddenly my fall was broke, and I felt arms clinging onto me in the bridal position. I looked up at my saviour, shocked to see none other than Sirius Black.

My cheeks heated up dramatically as he lowered us back to the ground carefully, dismounting his broom and sitting me on the ground. "Are you alright? You almost fell over fifty feet!"

"I-I'm okay-,"

"It must've been quite a shock... just take it easy and relax for a moment," he said soothingly, and I was captivated by him. His gorgeous black hair was tied back loosely and up close he was even more handsome. Suddenly however a different kind of panic hit me.

"My friends broom!" I exclaimed, looking up at seeing it thankfully still hovering where it was, however the bludger was closing in on it.

"I'm on it," he said quickly, mounting his broom again and grabbing a bat. He was a beater, so skilfully flew into the air and batted the bludger away effortlessly, it flying into the distance. He grabbed Maria's broom and headed down to the ground, landing beside me. "This is Maria McDonald's broom isn't it?"

"Y-yes, she's my friend," I mumbled under my breath.

"Are you (y/n) (l/n) then?" He asked and my eyes widened as he spoke my name.

"Y-yes... how did you know?"

"Maria mentioned you to me a few weeks ago. I'm surprised we never had the chance to meet, I'm Sirius," he held out his hand for me to take, him then helping me stand up. "Are you in Hufflepuff too?"

"Yeah... s-sorry, what did Maria say to you?" I asked, scared she'd told him my feelings.

"Not much, just that you were looking at taking quidditch up. Seems she was right, although you do still look a bit rusty," he said, rubbing the back of his head and embarrassment hit me.

"Y-yeah, I- I don't really know if I'm 'taking it up', M-Maria just wanted to teach me..." I muttered, avoiding eye contact with him. "Thank you for - er - s-saving me up there..."

"Well I wasn't going to let you fall was I?" He laughed, putting his hand on his hips. "Are you gonna be practicing for much longer?"

"Oh! No, no of course not, you can have the pitch, I'll head back inside," I spoke quickly, feeling embarrassed at keeping him waiting. As quickly as I could I grabbed Maria's room and began heading tot he tunnel, but Sirius called out to me to stop me.

"Wait (y/n)! Why don't we practice together? Teaching someone else might help me train, if you don't mind helping an opposing team," he suggested. Awkwardness hit me, realising that this was probably Maria's plan in motion, and agreeing to it meant that I was going to be able to spend more time with him. On the other hand he was going to see just how bad I was at quidditch, and I was scared of embarrassing myself. The conflict in my head was strong, and I didn't realise how long I was taking to decide until Sirius spoke up again. "Er, (y/n)? You alright?"

"Oh yes! Yes, of course, yes, I'd like that- i-if you'll have me- if I'm getting in the way I can go-," I felt even more embarrassed when Sirius started to laugh.

"You're just as nervous as Maria said you were," he laughed. "I assume Maria's been mainly teaching you about how to catch tht esnitch, what with the fact she's a seeker?"

"No actually, she's - er - been teaching me how to deal with the quaffle... I don't know why, I think she was just trying to welcome me to the sport," I murmured, avoiding eye contact.

"Hm... well I'm a beater, meaning I have to deal with the bludger a lot more," Sirius said.

"I-I know... I've watched you play... you're really good," I dared to say.

"Aw, thanks (y/n)," he said sweetly making my heart rate escalate. "Well, I was wondering whether you'd be willing to be bait?"

At this word I looked up at him, caught completely off-guard. "'Bait'?" I quoted and he nodded.

"Yeah, the bludger tends to go for the other players in the quidditch team, trying to knock them off their brooms. I'm in charge of defence, so if the bludger races for you it'd be great practice for me to try and defend you as though you were a real player," he said. "We often do it in training."

"Okay... yeah I guess that works..." I muttered, not wanting to show how scared and intimidated I was.

"Great! C'mon then, lets fly!"

It's fair to say it was quite scary training, but I was hypnotised by the way he darted around the stadium with such speed. He told me to fly back and forth around the stadium which made him work harder, trying to keep two bludger from attacking me. There were a few close calls but he was working hard to protect me, him literally acting like a knight in shining armour. My eyes were often glued to him as opposed to where I was flying or where the bludgers had gone, resulting in me almost colliding with the stands or the goal posts but he was quick to steer me in the right direction.

I was having immense fun, and he was able to get a decent amount of training in. Annoyingly it had turned dark outside, making it very difficult to see the bludger which resulted in it being quite dangerous staying out. "Thanks (y/n), you've been a real help," Sirius said as we went to the broom shed, putting away the equipment we had used.

"Happy to help... I really enjoyed tonight," I mumbled, hanging up Maria's broom in the Hufflepuff area of the shed.

"I'm surprised we've not spoken properly before now," Sirius said and I nodded.

"Yeah I guess..."

"I guess you're the introvert type," he chuckled and I shook my head.

"Not really, I'm not either... I'm just a little plain really, so I'm not surprised you've not noticed me before," I admitted awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head.

"Aw, did you want me to notice you?" He suggested with a smirk.

"N-no! That's not what I meant- I - er-,"

"Well we're friends now, right? And I didn't think you were plain. You're quite fun. How about we train like this again?" He said and I felt my heart beat a little quicker.

"O-okay... sure," I smiled slightly, silently cheering at the fact I got to spend more time with him.

"C'mon, lets head back to the school. Do you want me to walk you to your common room?" He asked, his politeness catching me by surprise.

"No, it's okay, I don't want to inconvenience you," I said and he smiled.

"Well, goodnight then (y/n)," he said, us parting ways once we got to the moving staircases. I waved and watched him climb the stairs, then turning and heading back to the Hufflepuff common room. Once back in my dorm I saw Maria on her bed, flicking through the latest Daily Prophet.

"Hey, how was training?" She asked nonchalantly when I entered.

"I think you know," I said with a raised eyebrow, collapsing on my bed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"I know you set the whole thing up, it was all that little plan of yours wasn't it," I said and she looked confused.

"My 'little plan' hasn't been put into motion yet..." she said and I froze. "Wait... you mean you were with Sirius tonight? Without my help? That's amazing! I'm so proud of you, turns out you didn't need my help," she teased. 'So tonight wasn't Maria's plan? Sirius stuck around with me because he wanted to?' "You have to tell me everything!"

I relayed everything that happened - the fact he saved me, the training we did together and his request to do it again. "I don't understand though. I mean, yeah tonight was fun but why would he want to spend even more time with me?"

"Probably because he wants to get to know you. And you'll be playing quidditch together," she said but I still doubted myself.

"Hm... I don't know. He may have just thought it was the polite thing to do, to ask to practice again. I'm not going to say anything... he can make the move if he wants to practice again," I said, the self-doubt evident in my tone.

- Sirius' POV -

"Hey dude, where've you been? You missed me thrashing Wormtail at exploding snap," James said proudly, and I glanced at Peter to see his hair was still a mess from the explosion.

"Guys, do you know a girl called (y/n) in Hufflepuff?" I asked, my mind unable to stop thinking about her.

"Yeah, she sits next to me in potions. She's helped me a couple of times, she's really nice," Peter said, blushing slightly.

"Of course we know her, why do you ask?" Remus questioned.

"You've been with her tonight haven't you!" James piped up, pointing at me accusingly.

"Yeah I have... I had no idea who she was until now though, how come you guys all know her and I don't?" I asked.

"Because you don't pay attention," Remus said, not looking up from his book.

"Probably because you only talk to girls you're attracted to. She's not the classic pretty girl after all," James said and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"S-she is pretty!" Peter defended.

"C'mon Peter, you know James doesn't find any girl pretty other than Lily," Remus said.

"I think she's... nice," I admitted, smiling a little at the fun I had tonight.

"Oh? Does Padfoot have a little crush?" James teased and I rolled my eyes.

"'Course not, I don't get crushes," I scoffed, making my way to my bed and changing into my sweatpants.

"Well then why did you spend all evening with her?" James asked.

"We were just quidditch practicing, that's all," I said.

"But she doesn't play quidditch," James said.

"She was learning, the Hufflepuff seeker was teaching her. They're close friends," I said, reaching for my cigarettes and opening a window.

"Do you like her?" James asked again.

"I only just met her dude. She's nice I guess..." I said but I couldn't seem to get her out of my mind as I smoked my cigarette. "We agreed to meet again," I finally admitted.

"Like a date?" James asked.

"Pfft, no, she's not really my type," I said, stubbing out my cigarette and clambering into bed as it had gotten very late now thanks to James' repeated questions. "We'll probably just practice quidditch again. If anything I'm just using her for practice."

"Ah there he is, the classic 'I-don't-care-about-girls-feelings' Sirius Black," Remus said.

"Whatever. She's not my type anyway, so there's no chance of us being together," I said firmly.

"Whatever you say," Remus teased. I rolled my eyes and decided it was time to sleep, the boys agreeing. We all settled down but for some reason I couldn't sleep, and instead found myself thinking about the ordinary girl I had just met.

- Timeskip -

As the week went on I found myself noticing her more and more. Without wanting her to she was catching my eye, and I did wonder how our paths had never crossed before. The other guys knew her, hell it seemed Peter had a crush on her, but she wasn't really my type. She was too... boring.

"Pads... Pads... Padfoot!" A voice exclaimed, and I looked to Remus who was my partner in Potions. "Why do you keep staring at her? I thought you said she wasn't your type?"

"She's not," I defended, but I somehow felt a little pang in my heart when she laughed at something Peter said, causing him to blush like a tomato.

"Then why are you constantly staring at her?" He asked and I scoffed.

"I'm not," I lied, refusing to believe it myself.

"The few times I've spoken to her she seems nice. Why don't you train with her again?" Remus suggested.

"She doesn't play quidditch so there's no point," I said nonchalantly.

"You had fun though, didn't you?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe... fine, okay, it was fun. Teaching her was entertaining, she seemed to really be into it," I huffed, stirring the potion.

"Perhaps she's trying to impress you," Remus said in a teasing tone. "If she is she seems to be doing a good job."

"I told you Remus, she's not my type," I said, but I heard her melodic laugh again and glanced up to see her laughing at the mess Peter had just made. I gripped the ladle tightly, stirring the potion quicker, ignoring Remus' shouts to slow down. Suddenly in front of us the potion spurted out of the side, burning my head. I sweared loudly, catching the attention of the class and earning us a telling off from Slughorn.

"Those are nasty burns," he analysed our hands. "Go see Madam Pomfrey. Mr Black, you now have detention for foul language."

"What? That's not fair!" I exclaimed but he walked away. I stormed out of the classroom, Remus following. "Sorry Moony, didn't mean to get so carried away," I said.

"I don't care about that. What I do care about is the fact that you are intrigued by her," Remus said and I gritted my teeth, coming to the realisation myself.

"Alright fine, maybe I do, okay?" I let out a sigh as I finally admitted it.

"Look, Sirius... I will admit, I don't know (y/n) too well, I've only had a few conversations with her but to me she seems the sensitive type. The type that doesn't want to be played around with. That's probably why you've not really paid attention to her before. If this is gonna be another fling then don't do it."

"Look Moony, I've hung out with her once. Plus I'm not really that kind of guy anymore. I see James and Lily together and I... I like the look of it," I admitted and Remus smiled.

"Then ask her to quidditch practice again," Remus suggested again. It felt slightly embarrassing to be taking advice from him but I nodded, the two of us making our way to Pomfrey to get our wounds treated.

- Timeskip - - (y/n)'s POV -

When Sirius asked me to practice quidditch with him again it was fair to say I was surprised. Despite him saying he was going to ask me anyway I had a feeling he was just being polite, but now our practices had become a regular thing and I was getting better and better at quidditch thanks to him. He was a surprisingly good teacher, and managed to build my confidence up so that I could fly higher and higher. I was also able to ride with no hands now, something Sirius often did just to show off.

He had used me for beater practice multiple times and managed to stop the bludger each and every time. I knew he was good at the sport but seeing it up close made it even more impressive.

He was also speaking to me more and more outside of the practice we had. There were a few occasions when. Much to Gabe's annoyance, Sirius would come up to the Hufflepuff table to say hello to me. The only issue was that I knew Sirius was just being friendly, but if he kept this behaviour up I was going to fall for him even more.

A month had passed and I was at the quidditch pitch with Sirius, us both flying and throwing the quaffle back and forth between us. We had somehow grown close, and I was still having difficulty registering this fact as merely weeks ago I thought he'd never want to spend time with me, I didn't imagine him to be interested in me in the slightest. "Hey (y/n), defend the hoops!" He shouted, thrown the quaffle towards the hoops. As quickly as I could I sped after it, and managed to kick the ball far away from the hoops in one stylish swoop.

"I did it! Hey Sirius, I did it, I bet I'd be an awesome keeper!" I shouted proudly, turning to him and seeing him staring at me. "Sirius?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah sure," he muttered, avoiding eye contact and I immediately felt self-conscious - it perhaps didn't look as cool as I thought it did.

"Oh, yeah you've probably seen way better saves than that," I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head.

"No I... I haven't," he said and my eyes widened. "That was probably the best save I've ever seen."

I felt my cheeks heat up at the immense compliment, doubting he meant it but feeling blessed all the same. "I doubt that Sirius," I laughed awkwardly.

"You'd make a great keeper (y/n). Why did you never pursue quidditch?"

"Because I was never very good at it. I've not been very good at anything," I admitted, the two of us flying down to the ground.

"You're better than you think you are," Sirius said but I shook my head.

"No I'm not... nothing about me is distinct. I'm not intelligent, I'm not sporty, I've not got any hobbies and I'm not attractive," I sighed.

"Yes you are," Sirius said simply and I felt my cheeks heat up. I stared at him in awe, and as he realised what he said his eyes widened and a blush appeared on his cheeks. I'd watched him flirt with girls and be with girls from afar, but I had rarely seen him blush like he was doing right now. "I mean... I mean, well you're nice, and... er..."

"I've never seen you nervous before," I chuckled, at his behaviour.

"I've never seen you this happy before," Sirius counter-acted and I rubbed the back of my head.

"I guess... I guess you're right," I admitted.

"(y/n), Remus seems to think you might have a thing for me, is that true?" Sirius asked bluntly and it was my turn to stutter uncontrollably, only I wasn't making any sense with the words I was forming. "So it's true?"

I knew now it was best to admit it. "I-it's true..." I mumbled, crouching on the ground and hiding my head in my knees. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like girls like me,I mean you didn't even know me until a month go, and I know you don't even like commitment, so I shouldn't feel this way and I'll try to get over it-,"

"Whoa (y/n) slow down!" Sirius laughed and I felt humiliated. "Why on earth do you think I don't feel the same way?" His words made my head shoot up in surprise. He sat down beside me, looking at me with his gentle dark eyes and wearing his mischievous smirk. "I do like you too," his words struck me right in my heart, and I was having difficulty understanding them. "You're right though, I've not been keen on commitment in the past. I guess I've seen what James and Lily have... and I decided that I want something like that. Not only that but I've not liked the idea of that with any other girl but you."

My heart felt as though it was about to burst. I was having difficulty comprehending his words, them not soaking in. He looked at me expectantly, but I shook my head. "N-no- why would you like me?"

"Because you're not pretending to be something you're not. You're you, you're not afraid to be who you are. You may think you're plain or boring, but I think you're amazing," he said and I felt a little emotional. "So... will you let me call you my girlfriend?"

"You know Sirius I'm not the type of girl who's interested in flings," I pouted and he laughed.

"I know you're not, and neither am I anymore," he assured me and I smiled.

"O-okay... then yes, yes I'd like that," I said. I was hypnotised by him as he cupped my cheek, stroking my skin softly. He closed his eyes and pulled me in for a kiss, his warm lips making my heart escalate until it burst, and I didn't realise a kiss could feel this heavenly.