Marauders American Girl

It's a Sirius Issue!

"Shh!" someone hissed. "They'll wake up!"

"I've been awake for a while now," a familiar voice rumbled under my ear. Sirius? Huh? Right, right, last night he wasn't horrible and annoying.

"Then why haven't you moved?" someone else asked.

"She needed me last night," he replied softly. I could hear the care in his voice. It was odd, but I almost liked it. "It was rough." I adjusted slightly and groggily opened my eyes. It took me a minute to focus.

"Sirius?" I questioned lightly.

"Yup?"

"Can you let go of me?"

"Nope."

"I need to pee." He let go quickly and I sat up. The other three Marauders were staring at the pair of us. Keeping my face carefully blank, I pushed past them and to my dorm.

That moment helped Sirius and I become sort of friends. I still didn't like how immature he was, but he was growing out of it finally. No, I don't like him. But even I had to admit that he had his moments. Now if he would only stop having a different girl each week, then maybe I might like him more.

Now that I was getting closer with the Marauders, Potter was now trying to get me to talk about him to Lily. He bugged me almost as much as he bugged her. So yeah, the two of us talked about Potter. But mostly how annoying he was. Lily never mentioned his stupid shaggy hair, or his mischievous twinkling eyes, or the way he threw his head even higher when he laughed, or how he was constantly pushing up the glasses on his nose that was just slightly broken. That girl had it so bad for him but she never even recognized that no normal person notices these things about someone, especially if they hate that person.

Lupin was the smartest of the group, but most people didn't realize that he was the mastermind behind a lot of the Marauders pranks. He even thought of plenty that were technically within the school rules. He was devious, but a nice person to curl up near with a warm sweater and a book. I often went to him if I just wanted some small distraction or to think things through. The two of us didn't chat half the time we were together. We didn't need to. We had a sort of agreement. I didn't like his casual reactions to the others bullying and he didn't like my harsh reactions to their bullying.

Pettigrew was my favorite of the Marauders. He was soft spoken and not exceedingly smart and kind of overweight. But he was always the most sincere. The other three often drowned out his voice, but he still was fiercely loyal to them. They were his friends and he wouldn't have it any other way. He didn't participate in the bullying, since he was too little. The pair of us had deep discussions about the smallest of things. He needed more help with his work than any of the others combined and came to me when he felt awkward asking them about it. He put his friends up on a pedestal. They were the "best" kids in the school.

Frank Longbottom asked out Alice at the beginning of our fifth year. She had me help her get ready for their first date, which coincided with the first day we were allowed to go to Hogsmeade, a nearby wizarding village. I let her borrow something of mine to help ease her worries. They're official now. They spend most of their time together, but Alice always makes sure that she's there when I need her. I think it's unnecessary, but she insists and Frank is okay with it. I include him sometimes when we chat and we've become friends too.

"So, you love me yet, Watson?" Sirius asked.

"Why must you always start our conversations like that?" I returned.

"Because it's a Sirius question!" he replied.

"And you're a Sirius issue!" I retorted.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" he then queried. "It's the last trip before school ends. What do ya say?"

"And there's the second question," I sighed. "Can't you just be normal?"

"And there's your question," he prodded. "Are you gonna answer me?"

"Probably not," I shrugged.

"Woah woah woah," he froze. "Which question was that for?"

"You pick," I waved off, needing to escape to study with Marlene soon. I stood and walked away from him.

"So only a probably on going out with me," Sirius informed, following me. "What can I do to make that a yes?"

"Maybe stop being such a player?" I muttered under my breath, pausing as the doors opened. "And be a little more mature."

"I'll keep those in mind," he whispered in my ear. I sucked in a small breath, knowing that he'd heard that. I pulled away from him and turned to face him. Sirius really had grown up well. He still had some acne, but it wasn't horrid. And those cheekbones were gorgeous. He was tall, but I guess I was too so it didn't really matter. Except of course that I was almost done growing and he wasn't even close.

"I refuse to be one of your flings!" I yelled.

"But I promise, you'll be different!" he returned.

"Not like you haven't said that before!" I retorted, stomping away from him. I was not the first girl he'd tried to convince to date him. Everyone knew he was a player. I'd heard him say those exact words to another girl, Marlene to be precise. He broke her heart two weeks later. That was the longest girlfriend he'd ever had.

"You'll love me yet, Kendra Watson!" he called at my retreating back.

"In your dreams, Sirius Black!" I screamed finally, racing to the library. Marlene was there, trying to not start studying until I got there.

Up in the common room after dinner, Lily had a similar conversation with Potter. Except she was smarter about not letting him know how she wanted him to improve.

They both took our words to heart. Potter stopped asking Lily out every time they saw each other and I witnessed them having some nice conversations which was weird. Black stopped playing the field. He payed more attention in classes. Neither of them stopped their pranks, but I have a feeling that was more due to Lupin than themselves.