Little Red |Sirius Black|

True Gryffindor II : Dorcas Meadowes

"Ruh-roh." Muttered Arianna, as the Marauders looked at one another with large grins. Dorcas sat up straighter.

And just like that, things get interesting. She thought to herself with a smile.

"Gentlemen, why don't you join us?" Dorcas called out to the boys, before explaining the rules of the game. Ignoring Lily's look of doom, Dorcas turned to a wide-eyed Arianna and winked.

"Don't mind if we do!" Said James, rubbing his hands gleefully as he exchanged a look with Sirius. Remus simply shook his head.

"Well, I'm heading to bed." He announced, making his way towards the stairs. "You lot have fun."

"Booo!" Dorcas called out at his retreating figure. Remus only shot her an amused smile before leaving the room. Dorcas had to suppress a snort of laughter when Remus came back almost immediately, jogging towards his friends with a sheepish smile.

"Can't forget the food." He said, grabbing some stuff from James. "And now I'm really leaving. Have fun!"

James simply shook his head at his mate, then turned to give them a boyish smile. "So, where were we?"

It was Lily who spoke. "We," she said, gesturing to the three girls, "were playing a game. You are leaving."

Dorcas turned to Arianna. "It seems like the veritaserum only lasts a couple of minutes in this dose." Turning to Lily she smiled. "Oh, let them join, Lils!"

"Yeah, Evans don't be a spoilsport!" James said, the boys already making their way towards the sofa they were sitting on.

"No way, this is not what I signed up for." Lily insisted, stubbornly.

"I have to agree." Said Arianna, giving the Marauders an unimpressed look. "You're not welcome here."

"This is a public area, Little Red." Said Sirius, stepping in front of James with his arms folded. "You don't get to decide who's welcome here, and who's not. So I think we'll stay."

Dorcas saw Arianna's eyes flit to Sirius' well-defined arms for a split second, before focusing on his face. "Well then I'm leaving." She responded, getting to her feet. "Come on, Lily." Dorcas was about to protest, but she didn't get the chance to.

Sirius smirked at Arianna, and moved towards her. "Why, what's the matter?" He asked, his voice low. "You scared?"

Arianna's eyes flashed. "Of you?" She sneered, walking closer to the boy. "Never."

Dorcas wanted to roll her eyes. Sirius and Arianna might have had themselves fooled with this little theatrically hateful back and forth they had going on, but they weren't fooling her.

Even though Arianna would sooner die than admit it, Dorcas knew she fancied Sirius. She had noticed the smiles Arianna gave Sirius when they were on good terms, and how the two of them always gravitated towards one another in a group setting. How Arianna was always a little too excited for their little astronomy lessons, and to be honest, how she would always overcompensate for all that by making fun of anybody who fell for Sirius' charms.

None of this was too surprising to her. With his good looks, confidence and overall charm, Sirius had both girls and boys falling over themselves for his attention.

But what had surprised Dorcas, was Sirius' reaction to Arianna.

Dorcas was no fool. She had noticed the subtle changes in Sirius' behaviour all throughout the past year- how much more he had been hanging around them, despite the very clear animosity between the Marauders and the Salem girls. She had also noticed how he would give Arianna actual smiles instead of his usual smirks, and how Ari seemed to be one of the few people that actually made him laugh. Sure, Sirius still flirted with people, but his heart didn't seem into it as much. He liked her too, there was no doubting that.