Disclaimer: It's all JK Rowlings.
Melody smirked at Marissa as she pushed passed her in the library during her free period. She made sure to elbow Marissa enough to make it look unintentional, but to hurt all the same. Marissa just stared at Melody, eyes flashing with anger and hate as she watching Melody retreat down a row of books and look at titles, head tilted to the side to see better.
Marissa followed, walking down the row quietly. Melody just ignored her, not wanting to listen to anything she had to say or wanted to do. Her hand was already in her pocket, wrapped around the handle of her wand.
“So,” Marissa said, acting as if she was looking at a book, “You and Sirius, huh?”
Melody continued to ignore her. Anything she said Marissa would twist. The best thing to do was talk as little as possible and flee. However, Melody would fail her homework assignment if she didn’t get this book. As soon as it was in her hands, Melody decided she’d leave immediately.
“Hello, bitch, I’m talking to you,” Marissa snapped, sounding annoyed. Melody just continued to move down the aisle and look for her book. The Marissa pushed Melody roughly, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps in surprise, “Don’t ignore me or I’ll make sure you miss your little date.”
It was three days until the first Hogsmeade trip. Three days, Melody constantly reminded herself, until her and Sirius’ first “date”. Three days that seemed to take a life time to get to. Melody had forgotten how annoying it is to know people are talking about. How awkward it is when you walk in the room and could tell that seconds before, they had just stopped discussing you. It seemed, Melody felt, she hadn’t taken advantage of her sudden unpopularity. She had been free of rumors and lies for a month and a half and she didn’t even know it.
Melody and Sirius were the topic of gossip for the school, obviously. Everywhere Melody went someone was discussing her. And it was usually bad. There were rumors that Melody had used a love potion to get Sirius to ask her out. Then there were the rumors that he and Melody had been seeing each other for months in secret. Once again, many in the school thought Melody was slutty and desperate and was missing Kyle and needed someone.
Most of these rumors were, of course, started by Marissa and her clan. She had been unbelievably annoyed with everyone since Sirius “asked Melody out” in the Great Hall. For the first week, Melody slept in the Room of Requirement incase Marissa got a bright idea in the middle of the night and tried to do something to her. Of course, Melody’s absence just gave Marissa the chance to say Melody was with Sirius every night, though Sirius and the Marauders immediately shunned those rumors. This got Marissa more upset and she began to give Melody the silent treatment, though Melody was relieved for that.
She knew it was going to be a matter of time before Marissa confronted her, just as Kyle did. He had actually confronted Sirius first. Melody was there, however, and saw the whole thing. Kyle threw some insults, Sirius played it cool and argued calmly. Then Kyle went walking off with a black eye and busted lip and Sirius was complaining about his hair getting messed up. Kyle then later confronted Melody. It was an awkward conversation because, for a minute, Melody thought that Kyle was truly sorry for what he did and wanted Melody back. That is until he cursed Sirius and forbid Melody from seeing him. Then he walked away with a red hand print on his cheek.
Melody now glared at Marissa. She admits that she is sort of scared of Marissa, like every other girl in the school, but Melody did not want Marissa pushing her around.
“Was that a threat?” she asked.
“I believe it was,” Marissa said, exactly the same way Melody insulted people. Melody glared. Marissa had become her clone, practically. Just a meaner clone. Marissa smiled sickly sweet, “Now, I’m curious, what did you do to make Sirius ask you out? You aren’t his type.”
“And what makes you think you are?” Melody snapped and pushed past Marissa once more, spotting the book she wanted. She yanked it off the shelf, causing two more books to tumble out to the ground with loud bangs. Then Melody tried to get past her ex-best friend.
“Well, besides that fact that I hold your old position?” Marissa asked, looking smug. Melody raised an eyebrow, hugging the thick book to her chest.
“Only because you do everything I did,” Melody snapped.
“Oh, yes, but no one has noticed. And if they have, they have no more friends to talk about it with. I made sure of that,” Marissa said, smirking. Melody raised an eyebrow now, trying to stay clam as Sirius had done with Kyle.
“You do know that someone is going to override you, somehow,” Melody said.
“I doubt that,” Marissa said, shrugging and looking at her manicure. It was a rather ugly one, Melody noticed. She must have done it herself, for Marissa was never good at doing her nails. Melody had always done it for her.
“That is why someone is going to override you,” Melody said simply and walked away, but Marissa pulled her back.
“I’m not done talking to you,” she said.
“Shame,” Melody said, putting her snippiest most fake voice on, “I’m done talking to you.”
“I really don’t care if you’re snogging Sirius in the corridors or whatever you are doing with him. All I want you to know is that just because you are possibly going to be Sirius Black’s next girlfriend doesn’t mean that you are going to become any better then me,” Marissa then smirked, backing out of the row back towards her posse, “Watch your back, Atwood, the school already thinks you’re a bitchy slut. I know all your secrets. A few slip ups and not even the Marauders will be able to look at you without feeling sick.”
Then she was gone. Melody stood there for a moment, her heart beating heavily in her chest. She took a deep, shaky breath. The Marauders would stick by her, she knew. They were much to loyal. Especially Sirius and James. Both of them had just as much power over the student body as Marissa did. They would protect her.
-*-*-*-*-
Melody took a shower the moment she woke up on Saturday morning. The shower, she had hoped, would calm her down. Butterflies were in her stomach from the moment she opened her eyes. But the shower did nothing but waste an hour of the morning.
Lily, who had agreed to join Remus and James to Hogsmeade with Lisa, was just as nervous and brought up some toast for both of them to try and down. In the past two weeks, Lily and Melody had put aside their differences and began to actually get along somewhat. They weren’t friends, Melody somehow doubted they would every be close like that, but they were friendly enough. This was all against Marissa’s hopes, who watched them get friendly, an evil glint in her eye.
“It’s not like it’s a date,” Lily was saying. Lisa was doing her hair in the mirror, just as nervously.
“Yeah, but it would be easier if Peter was there. Then it wouldn’t be so much like one,” she said, pushing her thin bangs to the side, “But no, Peter had to go ask that Ravenclaw out.”
“At least you guys are going to be together,” Melody muttered. She was only nervous because she wasn’t sure how convincing she and Sirius could be as a pair. They had only done some “flirting” over the past two weeks.
“True,” Lily said, “But you’ll do fine with Sirius. I mean, you’re Melody Atwood. Most gorgeous girl in the school.”
“Being gorgeous doesn’t make me any better or calmer,” Melody muttered before putting the toast back down on the plate and looking for something to wear. But she couldn’t do it, so she helped Lily and Lisa.
Soon, Lily was dressed in a denim skirt and lime green tank top with a cropped jean jacket on. She had pink ballet flats on and pink make-up. Her hair was pulled up half way with silver hoops in her ears. Lisa, who was rather tall, was wearing low-rise jeans and an off-the-shoulder black sweater. Her hair was down around her shoulders, slightly curled. Both the girls wanted to help Melody now, but Melody told them to go and tell Sirius that she was coming.
Then Melody opened her trunk and searched all her clothes. Not able to settle on anything else, Melody slipped into a black halter dress, that was much to short at her upper thighs. She slipped into a pair of tight, straight-legged jeans and put on a pair black flats that were comfortable for walking. She did her make-up in neutral colors and then pulled her hair in a pony tail, letting wisps of her bangs and shorter pieces frame her face. She tied a black ribbon in her hair and took a deep breath. For dressing as fast as she can, she looked okay.
Grabbing her purse, Melody hurried down the stairs. Sirius was sitting on the sofa in front of the fire waiting and looking bored. Melody felt really bad, since this wasn’t even a real date. She walked over and Sirius looked up, looking her up and down impressed. He stood and took her hand, kissing it softly. Melody took the chance to look him over up and down.
He was in a navy blue button down shirt and black jeans that seemed to fit him perfectly. His hair was brushed, though styled no different, and his eyes sparkled. Though, Melody thought she saw a hint of nervousness in them. That caused her to relax. He was nervous, too.
“For you,” he said, handing her a light pink rose, “You looked amazing.”
“Thank you,” Melody smiled, taking the rose and smelling it. She smiled at Sirius, her nervous edge going away.
“I told James and Remus we’ll meet them at the Three Broomsticks for lunch around one. You don’t mind, do you?” Sirius said.
“Not at all. Sorry it took so long,” she apologized as he opened the portrait for her. He helped her through, playing it up for the few people left behind in the common room.
“Long? I had only been waiting for five minutes, don’t worry,” Sirius grinned. Melody raised an eyebrow.
“Five minutes?” she asked.
“Well, I have to look good for our first date,” Sirius said, winking at her. Melody laughed and they took a secret passage down to the Entrance Hall.
Only a few other people were around as they headed down towards the village. It was a gorgeous fall day. Not too cold and not too warm. The sun shined down on them, making their hair shine and faces glow. A cool breeze curved around them, sending pleasant and welcoming chills down their backs. Melody had expected Sirius to take her hand, but he didn’t and she didn’t question, knowing Sirius was going at his own pace. They had easy, light conversation as they walked, laughing together. Then they entered the village and paused.
“Where do you want to go?” Sirius asked.
“I would say that clothing store down the road, but I know you won’t like that,” Melody said, smiling, “So you can choose.”
“Clothing store?” Sirius raised and eyebrow, “There is a clothing store around here?”
“Yeah,” Melody explained and told him exactly where it was. Sirius grinned, slipping his hand through Melody’s and pulling her along. Melody quickly said, “We don’t have to go, Sirius, I can be hours.”
“Well, we have hours,” Sirius grinned. Melody smiled, too.
They entered the store and Sirius looked around curiously. It was similar to a Muggle store, but not quite. Melody lead the way to her size and she and Sirius had fun looking through all the clothes. Sirius then waited patiently while Melody tried on the clothes. She stepped out of the dressing room, modeling the outfit and Sirius would comment, usually making Melody laugh. When she was done, she changed back, hanging up the clothes she didn’t want and then looking at the ones she did.
“I’m going to buy these,” she said and headed towards the counter.
“I got it,” Sirius said. Melody’s eyes grew wide.
“No way, Sirius, I got this. It’s just clothes,” she said, blushing as the witch at the counter rung up the items. Stating the price, Sirius slid two galleons and seven sickles over the counter before Melody could argue.
“Sirius,” she groaned.
“It’s our date,” Sirius explained as he took the bag from the woman with a nod and led the way out of the store, holding the door open for her, “As the guy, I have to pay for everything today.”
“Please don’t,” Melody said, then lowered her voice, “We’re not really on a date.”
“Ah, but to everyone else we are. Besides, you said you wanted to be pampered. This is part of that,” Sirius grinned and slid his hand in hers again, “Where shall we go next? You say where.”
Knowing Sirius would want to stock up on joke merchandise, she grinned, “Zonko’s would be fun.” Sirius grinned too, kissing her on the cheek.
“You’re so cool,” he said and then they headed towards the joke shop.
Melody had only been in Zonko’s once. And that was in her third year. She had no interest in anything in the store then. Honestly, she didn’t have any interest in the store now, either, but Sirius acted like such a big kid and Melody had to laugh. She had more fun shopping in Zonko’s then she did shopping in her clothing store. And when Sirius spent a load of money on his products and walked out of the store with Melody and bulging bags, he seemed complete.
“Okay, so now don’t choose any more stores on my part,” Sirius said, grinning, “I have what I want. You can go wherever and I won’t argue.”
“Sirius,” Melody said.
“Don’t ‘Sirius’ me,” Sirius smiled, “I really don’t mind. I mean, at least you suggested Zonko’s. The other girls I’ve been out with would never dare mention that store.”
“They weren’t very fair then,” Melody said, beginning to walk towards Honeydukes.
“Yeah, well look at how they broke up with me,” Sirius said bitterly. Melody squeezed his hand and Sirius smiled again.
Entering Honeydukes, the smell of chocolate overwhelmed them. Without any of Melody’s consent, he bought her a load of chocolate. And then he bought some for himself. Melody wondered just how much gold he had with him, but she decided not to ask for fear of being rude. Before Sirius could buy her anymore, however, Melody pushed him out of the store and ten feet from the door.
“How long do we have until we have to meet James and the others?” she asked, hoping to distract Sirius from the chocolate. He looked at his watch.
“Five minutes, actually, we should go,” he said.
“Okay,” Melody said.
“Wait,” Sirius said, pulling her back so fast that she spun around, falling forward slightly so one hand was on Sirius’s shoulder and the other in his hand. Even Sirius seemed startled by how close he had pulled her towards him. They stared at one another for a minute, before Sirius stepped back slightly, Melody blushed. Sirius didn’t let that get to him, as he held a chocolate rose out, “You need one of these.”
Melody smiled as she took the chocolate and said, “Tha—”
“Don’t you dare thank me,” Sirius said, “You’re not supposed to.”
“Why?” Melody asked, curiously.
“I know your thankful. Silently thanking me is much more romantic then thanking me aloud.” Sirius explained, grinning again, “I’m going to have to explain a lot about romance to you, aren’t I? You seem to lack knowledge of it.”
“Well, I’ve never been much of a romantic, Sirius, and neither has Kyle,” Melody said.
“Well I knew Kyle wasn’t,” Sirius muttered.
They entered the Three Broomsticks and immediately saw James, Remus, Lisa, and Lily sitting at a booth by the window. Peter and a cute Ravenclaw sixth year, Veronica Parks, were also there, looking very cuddly. James waved Sirius and Melody over and Sirius, not dropping Melody’s hand, made a beeline for them. Melody’s excited smile faded as they passed Marissa and Kyle, drinking butterbeers and sitting very close. Marissa crossed her eyes at Melody and then connected herself once more with her date.
Before the thought of why Marissa and Kyle were together again, they hadn’t spoken a word since Melody broke things off with Kyle, Melody looked away from them. Sirius watched the suspiciously before greeting his friends.
Melody and Sirius squeezed into the booth together. They were sort of squished and sitting very close, but Sirius just put and arm around Melody and pulled her closer so she wasn’t sitting on top of Lily and they were able to move more comfortably. Sirius grinned at James and winked who just rolled his eyes.
“Hey guys,” Melody finally said.
“Enjoying your shopping much?” Lily asked, looking at the bags that they piled by their feet.
“Sirius won’t stop spending,” Melody laughed.
“And he won’t either,” Remus chuckled.
A waitress came over and took their orders. Sirius refused to let Melody order a salad and made her order a burger instead. When the waitress walked off Melody just looked at him.
“What?” Sirius asked, “You’re too skinny, you need meat,” he explained.
“Okay then,” Melody said, shaking her head.
“Sirius is a difficult date, isn’t he?” James asked.
“He is, actually,” Melody laughed.
“Told you!” James said looking at Sirius. Sirius just grinned, too.
When their food arrived they began eating and talking. The conversation was light and laughter constantly filled their table. Twice, Sirius nudged Melody in the side, making her jump before Sirius would nod secretly to Marissa who was shooting jealous looks over at the table when Kyle got up or they parted long enough. Kyle seemed to be unaware that Melody and Sirius were there. Melody just smiled, a bit sadly, at Sirius, glad that their plan was working on someone.
“So, Veronica,” Remus said, looking at Peter’s date, “How’s Peter been treating you?”
“Very good,” Veronica blushed, she was perfect for Peter, “He’s so sweet.”
“I had given him tips all night and morning,” Sirius whispered in Melody’s ear. They were still sitting very close and Sirius kept eating off of Melody’s plate. She had only eaten half her burger and more then half her fries before she had to stop and give her full stomach time to digest something.
“That was sweet,” Melody said.
“Just helping a friend,” Sirius shrugged.
“What are you two whispering about?” Lily asked, giving Melody a teasing glance. Melody felt herself blush again and she realized just how much she blushed around Sirius. She rarely blushed.
“Nothing of your concern,” Sirius said, taking another fry from Melody.
Once they finished eating the group stood up and left, after paying. Melody hadn’t even tried arguing with Sirius this time, as he immediately put down his and Melody’s part of the bill. Lily and Lisa paid for their own, as did a depressed James and a perfectly fine Remus. Peter paid for his and Veronica’s. Then they stood in front of the doors, not sure if they’re staying as a group or not.
“Melody and I were going to take a walk to the Shrieking Shack,” Sirius said loudly, just as Kyle and Marissa came out of the Three Broomsticks. They stared at Melody and Sirius then sat on a nearby bench. Melody had reason to believe that they were spying on her and Sirius. She didn’t care, surprisingly.
“Since when?” she whispered.
“You’ll see,” Sirius grinned.
“Okay,” James said, “I guess we’ll just keep walking around then?” he looked at Lily and then Lisa for this. They nodded, looking at bit awkward, but pleased. Peter and Veronica waved and walked off towards Honeydukes.
“See you later,” Sirius said and then, taking Melody’s hand, he had shrunk their bags so they sat safely in his pocket, he lead her off towards the Shrieking Shack.
“What’s at the Shrieking Shack?” Melody asked, “It’s nothing but a broken house that’s supposed to be haunted.”
“So? It’s the perfect place to supposedly be ‘snogging’” Sirius said, “And if you haven’t noticed, Marissa is forcing Kyle to follow us and spy.”
“How do you know?”
“Heard them talking in the Three Broomsticks.” Sirius shrugged.
“But it was too loud,” Melody frowned.
“I have good hearing,” Sirius explained, turning off the main road onto a path that would lead to the boarded up house.
“Really good hearing,” Melody breathed.
Once the made it to the Shrieking Shack, Sirius and Melody stood looking at it. It wasn’t really all that scary. Like Melody had said, it was nothing but a broken house that was supposed to be haunted. Melody got a creepy feeling in her stomach when—
“Ah!” she screamed as something grabbed her around the waist. Then Sirius’ laughter filled her ear and she relaxed, putting one hard up and touch the side of Sirius’ face. He was grinning and leaned against her hand as she leaned against him, willing her heart to slow down to it’s normal pace.
“You scared me, you git!” Melody said, though not at all angrily. She laughed now.
“I know, I was standing next to you the whole time!” Sirius crackled, though he sounded a bit dazed. Melody turned to face him and Sirius put his arms around her waist as she put her own around his neck.
“So, what are we doing up here again?” she asked.
“Snogging,” Sirius laughed, pushing her so she was sitting on the rickety steps of the Shrieking Shack. Then he leaned forward slightly so his soft breath brushed Melody’s cheek, “Or at least we look like we are to Marissa and Kyle.”
“Are they even up here? Marissa isn’t the type to climb up here,” Melody said keeping her voice low. Sirius smiled.
“Kyle is the one that actually turned back,” he said, “Didn’t you see Marissa following about fifteen yards behind us?”
“No, I didn’t actually,” Melody said, getting more comfortable with how close she and Sirius were to one another. She ran her fingers through his hair slowly and he winced.
“You’re messing up my hair,” he said.
“We’re snogging, remember?” Melody said, “I’m supposed to mess up your hair.”
“Oh yeah,” Sirius said. He pressed his forehead against Melody’s now and she smiled up at him. It felt so weird, yet she was very comfortable.
After about a half hour of “snogging” by the Shrieking Shack, Sirius and Melody headed back towards the village. Melody wasn’t sure if Marissa was still following them and neither, so it seemed, did Sirius. He had forgotten about her, actually, having been to caught up in trying to make their “snogging” look real when their lips never did touch once in the process.
After shopping a bit more and feeling about ninety percent closer to each other, Melody and Sirius decided that it was time to head back up to the castle. Hand in hand they walked, Melody suddenly feeling exhausted and ready to lay down. They were half way up when Sirius heard his name being called. He and Melody both turned to see James, Lily, Lisa, and Remus all hurrying after them.
“Heading back?” Remus asked.
“No, we’re just going back to the castle,” Sirius said seriously. Remus grinned at Sirius’ answer and then nodded a hello to Melody.
“Yeah, so how was the second half of your date?” James asked.
“Amazing,” Melody smirked. Sirius laughed and squeezed her hand.
In the common room, which was beginning to fill with students returning from Hogsmeade and younger students relieved to have the older students back again. Lily and Lisa said their good-byes to James, Remus, Sirius, and Melody before heading up the stairs. Sirius handed Melody’s bags back to her, returning them to their normal sizes as he did so.
James and Remus went up to their own dormitory, leaving Melody and Sirius alone. She hadn’t expected them parting was going to be awkward, but it seemed it was. Sirius bit his lip and looked away, before grinning cheekily at her.
“I had fun,” he said, then lowered his voice, “For it being a fake date and all.”
“So did I,” Melody smiled, “Thanks for buying, what, fifty galleons worth of merchandise?”
“No problem, love,” Sirius said, laughing, “You know, I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me buying everything. I mean, even if it wasn’t a real date, it still, in a way, was, you know?”
“Yeah,” Melody said, nodding, “It wasn’t uncomfortable. Just weird. I mean, on my dates with Kyle, he forgot his money half the time.”
“What a loser,” Sirius said.
“Seriously,” Melody nodded.
“So when can we announce to the school we’re going steady?” Sirius asked, again grinning widely. Melody laughed.
“Whenever you want,” Melody said, “Surprise me. I loved your last one.”
“Okay, then,” Sirius said, looking pleased. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead and then she turned and went up to her dormitory where Lisa and Lily were waiting to hear every detail of Melody’s date. Melody, however, was more concerned how things went for them.
A/N: Haha, I'm getting really excited about this story. ^_^ I had chapter eight half way written already. Hopefully, I'll get a couple of more chapters written soon. ^_^
I know this chapter wasn't as exciting, but it was fun to write. ^_^ Especially the 'snogging' scene. hehe.
Please review.
I love hearing what you have to say and it makes me update faster.
xoxo
Carolyn.
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