Beautiful chapter image by Chella from TDA
"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."
- Author Unknown
"What the hell!?" Nessa said loudly, dropping her bag with a thud.
~ * ~
James and Kate stared in shock at Nessa, who looked as shocked as they did. Never had she - not even in her wildest dreams - imagined James and Kate together.
Nessa took a step forward, closing her mouth, her eyes falling to her shoes, as she tried to clear her mind. First Izzy being best friends with Sirius, then Sirius ignoring her, not to mention James ignoring Lily all of a sudden, then Kate not showing up in class, and now...
"No," Nessa said, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. "Too many changes... no, no, no, this is not happening."
"Nessa?" Kate said softly, shaking her a bit.
Nessa opened her eyes, staring at Kate and pushed her harshly away. "Don't talk to me, don't even...
look at me, Katie!"
"What did I do!?" Kate yelled after Nessa as she rushed up the stairs.
"You're messing it all up! Everything is different now, Kate! I hate changes!" she screamed furiously, running up to their dorm and slamming the door shut.
"Oh shoot..." Kate muttered, sitting back down.
"Don't worry, she's just being... Nessa!" James said and shook his head.
"I know, but..." Kate said, closing her eyes. "I hate it when she is like that."
"Don't worry," James said again, putting his arm around her, making Kate tense up.
"James?" Kate said quietly.
"Hmm?"
"Could you... um, take your arm...?"
"Oh!" James said and pulled away.
"I'm sorry, I just... don't think I'm ready, you know, we haven't even been on our date yet."
"You're right," James said and smiled. "Well, I guess I have to go now..."
"Okay," Kate said and smiled as James stood up. "See you later?"
"Of course," James said. "See you."
He waved as he left the Common Room, leaving Kate alone with her millions of thoughts. She had no idea what she should do with James on their date in Hogsmeade, not to mention what she should do with Nessa - or Lily and Izzy! They would kill her, if they found out...
Kate being the hopeless romantic she was, didn't believe in kissing on the first date. Maybe that was why she had never had her first kiss, which was no wonder considering her shyness. What if James would try to kiss her? Would it be too awful to just turn her cheek to James? She knew that James was a sweet guy, but he had a reputation to hold. Not as bad as Sirius Black's, but still...
"Kate!" Lily shouted, climbing in with Izzy, Sirius and Remus following. "Where have you been? You don't look like you're dying, nor do you look ill," Lily said and glared at Izzy who looked sheepish. "What's the matter? Are you skipping? Katie! You have never even been away ill or anything like it!"
"Lily! Calm... down!" Kate said, standing up again. "I'm fine, I just... needed to be alone."
She glanced at Remus, who stared at her intently.
"And!?" Lily demanded, placing her hands on her hips.
"Lily, calm down..." Remus said quietly, glancing at the fuming Lily.
"Remus, I can't have Kate skipping from classes because she 'needed to be alone' in her last year! We're going to take our N.E.W.T.s this year, Remus! Oh dear Merlin, she has already missed two valuable classes! I have to stay up all night and tutor her or her future will be--"
"--her future will be fine, Lily," Izzy said with a bored tone. "She didn't miss any 'valuable' or 'precious' or whatever you called Sheffield and Smith's classes. Believe me Katie, you're lucky! I almost died in boredom."
"You're not the only one!" Sirius snorted, earning a glare from Lily.
"You two will do horrible in those N.E.W.T.s," she said hotly.
"Thanks for the prediction," Izzy said and leaned to Sirius' shoulder. "I'm sure we will pull atleast one O, don't you think, Blackie?"
"How many times must I tell you to not call me Blackie!?" Sirius said, looking up at the ceiling in frustration, as a smile tugged at the corner of Lily's mouth.
"As many times as I have to tell you to not call me Rushie," Izzy said and narrowed her eyes.
"Fine then...
Rushie!" Sirius said, narrowing his eyes too.
"Fine,
Blackie!"
Remus shook his head as Sirius and Izzy continued to bicker, sitting down in the armchair, while Lily took a seat on the sofa, pulling Kate down next to her.
"But seriously," she said with a sisterly tone. "If you need any help with the assignments, essays or homework, just tell me, and I'll let you copy them."
"Oi!" Izzy called out, looking hurt. "You let
her copy, but not me!?"
"Well, you had the chance to do your own notes," Lily said and raised her brows at Izzy's furious expression.
"Come, come, my dear!" Sirius said charmingly, pulling her gently away. "We still have to ask Prongs about that Quidditch thing!"
"What Qui--? OHHHH!!!!" Izzy said and made her way towards the portrait hole with him.
"Talking about James," Kate said and sat up a bit. "I'm going with him to Hogsmeade this weekend."
The reaction was immediate. Lily's eyes went wide of shock, Izzy stumbled over her own steps and Sirius fell on her on the floor, and Remus looked sharply up from his hands.
"W-what?" Lily said quietly, looking at Kate and back at Remus. "But... I...
what!?"
"He asked me out, no big deal," Kate said and leaned back.
"This is--" Lily started, but noticed the shake of Izzy's head as she lay on the floor with Sirius on her. "--amazing, Kate!"
"Huh?" Kate said, looking at Lily with a frown. "It is?"
"Yes!" Lily said, hugging her best friend, while sending a quizzical look at Izzy, who shoved Sirius away from her and hurried to the armchair beside Remus. "A guy - even if it is Potter - asked you out! I knew it would happen!"
"Well," Kate said and blushed. "We're not dating or anything. It's just a... date."
"I'm happy for you, though," Lily said and smiled almost forcefully. "But if he hurts you, I swear I will kill him."
"I know you will," Kate laughed.
"I don't want to ruin this blissful event, but didn't you ask--" Izzy started with a confused expression on her face, but got tackled over by Sirius.
"Aren't you a silly one, you!" he laughed, ruffling Izzy's hair as he covered her mouth with his hand. "Come on then, let's go find our very own Romeo!"
"What the hell are you--"
"Izzy, shut up, just for your own good," Sirius muttered, dragging her out from the Common Room.
Lily, Kate and Remus stared after them, all of them looking more and more confused by their behaviour.
"Strange duo those two," Lily said quietly.
~ * ~
"What the hell is your problem!?" Izzy hissed as they stumbled out.
Sirius looked at her, not believing what she was saying.
"Do you really want to embarrass your best friend by reminding her about that little rejection she got earlier today, just when she has a date with another guy?"
Izzy seemed to think about this for a while, and slowly it all dawned to her. Her mouth fell open and her eyes went wide of shock.
"That's what I thought," Sirius said and took her hand, pulling her down the corridor.
"I wasn't going to embarrass her, anyway!" Izzy huffed, following Sirius.
"Oh yeah?" Sirius asked with raised eyebrows, looking skeptic.
"Yeah!" Izzy said, pulling her hand away from Sirius grip and crossed her arms with a smirk. "I'm not such a dork that you might think."
"Shockingly," Sirius snorted.
"Shush!" Izzy said and whacked Sirius, laughing nevertheless.
They both laughed as they walked further along the corridor. As the bell rang as the sign of the next class starting, the corridor seemed to empty faster than humanly possible. Only Izzy and Sirius strolled calmly down the corridor, taking the longer way to the Entrance Hall and to the Herbology class out in the grounds.
"How come you're not like the other girls?" Sirius asked, glacning at Izzy with his grey eyes.
"What do you mean?" Izzy said, frowning a bit, but not daring to look at Sirius.
"Well," Sirius said shrugging. "You're not like Nessa, always worrying about her looks. You sure aren't like Lily, a helpless perfection, nor are you like Kate who's pretty much nice to everyone - even the Slytherins."
"That's because I haven't been through the same things as they have," Izzy said, pushing her hands in her pockets.
"Care to explain?" Sirius asked after a moment, not sure if Izzy was going to tell or not.
"I don't really know exactly," Izzy lied, stopping suddenly. Sirius turned to face her, looking confused. "See, there's things I can't talk about, Black."
Sirius blinked at the use of his surname, and held up his hands in defence. He slowly backed away from her, a grin spreading on his face.
"Fine then, Rush," he said, and dropped his hands. "I understand."
Izzy nodded and watched him turn around, whistling silently as he continued to stroll down the corridor. Quickly catching up with him, a small smile on her lips, she looked up at him, shoving him gently on the shoulder.
"You know, I know how to be one of the girls," she told him.
"I highly doubt that," Sirius said.
"Oh yeah?" Izzy demanded, stopping again.
"Yep," Sirius said, spinning around to face her again. "There's no way you would dress yourself in a girly dress and act like a lady!"
"Well--" Izzy started but fell silent as she heard footsteps come closer.
"Come quickly!" Sirius hissed and took her hand, pulling her quickly down a secret passageway behind a portrait.
Izzy was pushed into a dark, small corridor-like place. She noticed soon that it wasn't much bigger than a broom closet. She could barely move at all, and as Sirius stepped inside, she felt very awkward and aware of their space - or more like the lack of it.
"What is this place?" Izzy whispered, standing in the darkness, inches away from Sirius' face in the small corridor.
"One of the many secrets we Marauders have," Sirius said, and Izzy could feel his eyes on her - or then she just assumed so, because she could feel his breathing against her face, ever so calm and soothing.
The footsteps were fast and brisk - probably McGonagall's - and they stopped right on the other side of the portrait. Izzy heard how Sirius took a deep breath, trying to keep his nerves together.
Izzy sighed of relief when the footsteps disappeared further away form the portrait, and she could hear Sirius do the same.
"That was close..." Sirius muttered, trying to stumble out from their hiding.
"You have a wand, you idiot," Izzy snarled, rolling her arms.
"Oh, yeah..." Sirius said, and Izzy could hear him grin as he talked. "
Lum-- Shit!"
"What?" Izzy asked, wondering what took so long.
"I dropped my wand," Sirius said sheepishly.
"You--"
"--idiot, I know!" Sirius said with an annoyed voice. "Wait, I think I can reach it."
Izzy felt Sirius' hand brush against her thigh, and she tried to slap his hand away int he darkness, only hitting his shoulder by mistake.
"Oww, what did you do that for!?" Sirius said.
"Sorry, I thought it was your hand!" Izzy mumbled.
Realizing that her hand was still on Sirius' shoulder, she quickly pulled it back and sighed, trying to keep her breathing normal.
Sirius tried to reach for his wand again, but only ended up knocking his forehead with Izzy's, both of them groanign and cursing loudly.
"Sirius!" Izzy screamed, rubbing her forehead.
"What!?" Sirius snapped, groaning in pain.
"I see stars!" Izzy complained, blinking rapidly.
"Atleast you see
something!" Sirius said sarcastically.
Izzy narrowed her eyes, not sure if it was because of the bump or just her eyes getting used to the darkness, but she could have sworn that she saw the outlines of Sirius' face.
I must be losing my sanity..., she thought.
But something in the way Sirius was breathing, made her pain go away, making her body go numb. The only thing she could hear was his breathing, the smell of grass and after shave - he smelled so good.
Somehow Izzy could feel Sirius' face come closer, and she tried to back away, but only hit the wall behind her. Her concentration moving to the pain she felt in the back of her head, she made a sudden movement forward, making her lips collide with Sirius'.
And she couldn't pull them away.
He took a stumbling step backwards by her sudden movement, falling back against the wall and his hands on Izzy's hips - something Izzy found very interesting indeed. For a while they just stood there, their lips still glued together. Neither of them dared to move, as if it was a bomb that would explode.
Finally, Izzy pulled gently away, trying her best to not lick her lips, just to taste what it tasted like. Instead, she bit her lip, leanign heavilly against him, trying to understand what had just happened. Never would she have thought that she would kiss Sirius Black.
Even if it wasn't really a kiss.
"Would you mind repeating that?" Sirius whispered with a hoarse voice.
Izzy frowned a little. She slowly stood up on her toes, wondering where exactly his lips were. Suddenly she felt warm flesh against her lips, and she flinched in surprise. She felt Sirius' graze her lips gently, carefully, as if he was scared to get hit by her any minute now. But Izzy stood very still, her eyes slowly fluttering shut.
Her first kiss.
She didn't care who it was with, or where it happened. It was just a kiss. But yet, it made her stomach flutter as if she had dozens and dozens of Snitches there. The same feeling she got when she soared on her broom in the air, keeping an eye on the Bludgers...
These must be those butterflies, Izzy thought.
She didn't exactly know what to do, but she placed her hands on his shoulders, tilting her head to the side and letting him do the job, while her lips followed suit.
It all seemed like a wonderful dream where ntohing mattered, until--
The light made them both frown, as they pulled quickly away, but Sirius never let Izzy go.
"What the hell!?" Sirius said, lifitng his arm to cover his eyes from the bright light.
Izzy blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes and blinked some more. When she finally got her sight somewhat back after the darkness, it all seemed like a very good dream gone horribly wrong.
Nessa stood outside the portrait, her eyes piercing Izzy. Izzy just stared back, not even realizing that she was still standing between Sirius' legs, his arms around her. It all seemed so wrong, but felt right...
But Nessa's look hurt more than anything.
More than ten Bludgers, actually.
"Nessa, this is not what it--"
"--looks like?" Nessa asked with a surprisingly calm voice. "Tell me, Izzy, what is it then?"
"I..." Izzy started, pulling away from Sirius who was gaping in shock at Nessa. "I don't know."
"I thought we were friends," Nessa whispered.
"Well, so did I!" Izzy said loudly, not knowing what else to say.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"Do you think I can take every single rant you have at me? Don't you think it's just childish? Well, form now on, I'm not going to wait for you to grow up anymore!"
"So you go and snog
him in a... in a... in a... what
is this place!?" Nessa said irritated, looking at Sirius.
"A passageway," Sirius said, slowly closing his mouth. "And this isn't Izzy's fault, it's--"
"I know, Black!" Nessa said loudly, her hand running through her thick curls. "I... I'm late..." she said with a weak voice and glanced at the two of them for the last time before running away.
~ * ~
A/N: Okay, so now there's finally another side of Izzy. The... um, girly side? xD She's the type of girl that wouldn't care if her first kiss was with a complete stranger! She's not a big fan of romance, like Lily or Kate for instance... anyway, next chapter is more about Nessa. Atleast some of her and her choices. Why is she so upset, do you think? I want to hear your thoughts, so as usually, remember to review! ^.^
- Lily xxx
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