The rest of the day passed in a blur of classes with lunch and dinner mixed in. We had just climbed through the portrait after finishing dinner and I flopped down on the couch face first and groaned. That was the longest school day of my life. Tux put his nose into the dip of shoulder, trying to get my attention. A clicking sound had Tux turning his attention elsewhere. Turning my body over so I was now laying on my back, I saw Tux trotting over towards Sirius who leaned against the arm of the couch next to my feet. Sirius pet the little traitor, sending his tail into circles. Peter and Marlene claimed seats around the area and pulled out their homework.

Lily, James, and Remus had a Prefect meeting and wouldn't be back for a few hours and Alice was out romancing Frank Longbottom. I don't know how these people did it. We had to write 12 inches of parchment - which by the way, still doesn't make any sense to me - on the Veritaserum potion, practice Meteolojinx Recanto which would cause jinx-related weather to stop, and a 9 inch parchment on the current Muggle fashion style. My brain was officially fried. I felt my legs being lifted and opened my eyes to see Sirius sitting then placing them in his lap. A moment later, my eyes fluttered shut again.

I must have fallen asleep because when I blinked open my eyes, the common room had mostly cleared out except for our pocket of the room. Sirius had his potions book propped open and looked as if he was actually reading, Tux curled up on top of his feet. I nudged the book with my toe, trying to get his attention. He looked over at me with a smirk. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Did you need something?"

Rubbing away the sleepies, I frowned slightly. "You know who Sleeping Beauty is?"

He smirked cockily. "Muggle Studies second year. We did all the muggle fairy tales. After writing more inches of parchment on sleeping princesses than I will ever care to admit, yes, I know who Sleeping Beauty is."

"Is there always this much homework?" I tried not to whine but I could hear it lacing my voice.

"Yes, love." Sirius chuckled quietly. "And you should probably get started before it piles up instead of sleeping away."

My eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. "You didn't strike me as the studious type. I figured that was all Remus and Lily."

"Now, I'm offended." He closed the book and balanced it on the couch arm. "I'm not just devilishly good-looking, I have some of the highest marks in our year."

"It's true," Peter added. I glanced over at him to see him watching us. Creepy. "Remus, Lily, and Xeno are the only ones above him."

Confused, I asked, "Xeno?"

"He's a Ravenclaw. You'll meet him in Care of Magical Creatures Wednesday." Marlene answered as she continued to scribble on her parchment.

Sirius tapped my foot. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Come on, we can practice Meteolojinx Recanto. I'll jinx it and you try to get rid of it."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed myself up so my back leaned against the couch arm. "I -"

Rain began falling on my head and I gasped loudly at the coldness of it. "Sirius!"

He cackled next to me, staying on his side of the couch which was nice and dry. Wiping water off my face, I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the cloud above me. With a slight hook movement, I said the incantation.

Rain continued to fall on me. Sirius was laughing hysterically while the others took a break from their work to watch me struggle. Wiping the water away again, I tried to cast it once more but nothing happened. "Did you really have to do this?"

"Practice makes perfect, love." He said with a grin, water now streaming towards his side of the couch. I sighed in frustration, trying once more.

Nothing.

Glaring up at the cloud in the common room, I didn't realize Sirius had moved closer to me until his hand wrapped around mine. A buzzing sensation ran up my arm from the contact. He smiled gently when I caught his eye. "Less of a hook motion."

Raising my wand towards the cloud, he guided my arm in the proper motion as I clearly said, "Meteolojinx Recanto."

A reddish tint spiraled out of my wand into the cloud causing it to disappear in seconds. A wide smile spread across my face, I turned to thank Sirius when I realized how close he was. I could feel his breath, we were so close. Gray eyes watched mine carefully. Opening my mouth to try and thank him again, I was cut off by the portrait banging open.

Everyone turned to see Lily, Remus, and James climbing through. Scooting slightly farther away from Sirius, I lowered our hands to my lap, his hand still wrapped around mine.

"Thank you." Words. Finally, I guess I do remember how to speak. "Maybe next time, you could warn me?"

Sirius shook his head like - well, like a dog, water flinging everywhere. "Love, where's the fun in that?"

"What in Merlin's beard happened?" Lily gasped, looking at the two of us soaking wet. Remus and James looked confused behind her.

"Sirius was trying to teach me charms. I'm not sure his teaching methods are that effective though." I looked wryly at the soggy boy. His shoulder length hair dripping as he grinned back innocently. Sighing, Lily waved her wand and the air around us began to steam dry. Thank God my hair was already up or it would have turned into an afro at this point. Jealously, I watched Sirius' hair return to its normal silky self. Damn him and his gorgeous hair. "Thanks, Lily."

"You're welcome, Mads." She smiled warmly at me then turned towards Sirius, raised her eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip, waiting.

"Uh, thank you Lilikins for not murdering me for making a mess even though Mads did actually learn how to cast the -" Lily's glared intensified. "I'm going to shut up now."

Rolling off the couch, I stood and stretched. "And I'm going to bed. Goodnight, everyone."

The others chorused their goodnights and began packing up their belongings, taking my exit as a cue to head to bed themselves. I really would need to get to work on my homework though. Well, hey, at least I managed one thing on my to-do list.

---

I didn't sleep last night. Not a wink. I spent the entire night staring at my canopy trying to fall asleep but my mind had gone a mile a minute. It was ridiculous. Now I'm exhausted. And about to kill Sirius.

"How's your muffin?" Sirius calmly ate his eggs, watching me. James sat next to him, chatting to a sixth year. Somehow I had managed to sit on the other side of the table and not between the two boys as I'd done for every other meal.

I narrowed my eyes across the table and took a bite of said muffin. "Good."

"What kind is it?"

"Chocolate." Taking another bite, he grinned widely at my answer. I was starting to dread that grin.

"Just chocolate?" I looked up at him and raised my eyebrow.

Closing my mouth as I was about to take another bite, I watched him carefully. "What did you do to it? Did you lick it?"

"Like a lollipop." Sirius replied with an evil grin. I glared and threw the muffin at his face, he ducked and it hit Remus who was passing behind Sirius to sit on his other side. "Oi! That was a perfectly good muffin!"

"Asshole. It was a perfectly good muffin before you licked it." I shot, crossing my arms. "Did you lick anything else on this table?"

"Maybe." He said with a stupid grin, shoving more eggs into his mouth.

"How do you get through a whole meal with him?" I turned to Remus, looking for help.

"Ignore him and just eat." Remus said, shrugging and took out a book. Sirius rolled his eyes at Remus as Marlene, Lily, Peter, and Alice joined us.

"Excited for DA? I know I am." Alice sang as she sat next to me.

"You know it." I said with a big grin as James scowled across the table. I threw a wink at him and he scowled harder. It was just too easy to rile him up. And so much fun.

-------

"Minnie! My love!" Sirius declared as we walked into the Transfiguration classroom. McGonagall, writing on the chalkboard at the front of the room, didn't even flinch at Sirius' declaration.

"5 points from Gryffindor, Mr. Black. Now sit down before I give you detention." She said sternly, her back still turned.

"Would the detention be with you, darling Minnie?" Sirius asked cheekily as he sat down front and center.

"No, it would be with Mr. Filch. Now, sit down. I will not ask again." McGonagall instructed, finally turning around to give him a pointed look. James flopped into the seat next to Sirius, Peter and Remus right behind them, Marlene and Alice to their left, and Lily sat alone at the front left desk. This was the first class I had so far that I had a chance to sit next to Lily. I grabbed it quickly, hoping no one else was supposed to be sitting in it.

Leaning over, I whispered so I wouldn't attract McGonagall's attention. "Ok, seriously though. What's up with that?"

"He's been doing this since Third Year when he actually had a crush on her. James bet him that Professor McGonagall would never date him and Sirius has been trying to win her over ever since. I hope it doesn't get out of hand this year." She whispered.

"I do." Marlene interjected behind us. "It's his last year to win the bet and it would be the best win ever."

"No worries, Mar. Minnie will be mine by graduation." Sirius said with a smirk and leaned back in his chair. I rolled my eyes and turned to focus on Professor McGonagall as she began the lesson on the Principle of Artificianimate Quasi-Dominance.

By the end of the double period, my hand was cramped from all the notes I had written. I understood none of it. Except, of course, that by not conjuring correctly, I could sever a head or mutate frog-rabbits. Neither sounded good.

"For homework, I want an 18 inch parchment on the importance of the Principle of Artificianimate Quasi-Dominance on my desk next week." Groans echoed through the room as we packed up to head to lunch. My to-do list was really starting to get long.

As we headed out the door, I ended up next to Sirius and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Does the love of your life always give that much homework?"

"Always," He sighed as if he was lovesick. "Minnie knows the way to my heart is through long assignments that have me thinking of her while I write about mutating fish and cats together."

"Ah, mutations. Sirius Black's biggest turn on. Somebody alert the Prophet." I joked, following Sirius towards the Great Hall.

"Now, love, don't go spilling my secrets." As we walked together, our arms brushed each other and when we passed a Hufflepuff girl, she threw me a glare. Confused, I looked over at Sirius who didn't notice as we made it to lunch. "I need to maintain an air of mystery."

"Sure you do," I rolled my eyes and took my seat next to James. Lunch consisted of salad, shepherd's pie, chicken sandwiches, and haggis. Basically the same spread as yesterday. I stuck to the chicken sandwich and some salad, staying far away from that haggis. No offense to Scotland but I just - nope, not happening. Everyone chatted as I quietly ate my food, watching them.

And my mind went to a dark place unintentionally. In just 3 short years, these people around me would be missing, insane, or dead. Remus would be alone. Peter would be presumed dead. And Sirius...

Looking over at the animated gray eyed boy, I couldn't even connect the two people as being the same person. The one sitting next to me was energetic, loud, his dark hair curling slightly and just touching his shoulders. The dog collar was around his neck again and I saw the glint of an earring as he threw back his head, laughing at something Peter had said. Trying to even picture the man who had been in Azkaban for 12 years, the man wrongful convicted of murder and betrayal, the man who fell -

But he wasn't that person yet. And if I could help it, he never would be. Realizing I was staring, I abruptly turned and found chocolate eyes watching me. A blush rushed to my cheeks at being caught by Remus. He winked and continued eating his haggis, listening to Lily talk about their transfiguration lesson.

Glancing at the watch on my wrist, I quickly ate the rest of my sandwich. Lunch ended at 1pm and I only had about 5 minutes left. The others were packing up, getting ready for our afternoon class. Defense Against the Dark Arts. I nudged Sirius softly in the ribs. He cut himself off mid-conversation with Peter to turn towards me.

"So, Mystery Man, can you lead me to Defense Against the Dark Arts or is that supposed to be a mystery too?" I grabbed my bag and slipped the strap over my left shoulder, swinging my leg over the bench.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at me with a smirk. "It's Sir Mystery Man to you, love."

"If you two are done flirting, I'd like to get to class on time." James said above us. I looked up to see the curly haired boy looking between us expectantly.

"Aye aye, Mr. Head Boy." Sirius mockingly saluted his best friend, standing up to join the group. Trying not to blush too much, I followed along, slipping through to walk next to Lily.

Had I been flirting? Thinking back on my few conversations with Sirius the past few days, I knew there had been a few moments where there was something but...I didn't flirt. I was terrible at it. And also terrible at knowing when someone was flirting with me. One time, a guy had hit on me at the store with Emmy. Me, oblivious girl I am, thought he wanted to know about the best diner in town and how to get there. Emmy almost peed herself laughing at me when she revealed he was asking me out.

Fuck. Maybe I had been flirting with Sirius Black. What the hell was wrong with me?

Regardless of the age difference in my own time, there was the whole being from different planes of existence. And that he might not even be real.

There was still the possibility I was in a coma.

Although, if that was the case...why not flirt my ass off with Sirius Black? If I was just going to wake up and it had all been a dream then no harm, no foul.

My brain was starting to hurt.

Luckily, we arrived at DADA before I had a meltdown. Everyone took their seats and James waved me over to the empty one next to him. Sirius sat with Peter and Remus across the aisle from us and the girls sat in front of James and I. As I sat down, Professor Brogan strolled past me. The class fell silent as he walked to the front and turned towards us. A cold feeling spread out from the middle of my stomach as blue eyes looked straight at me. Goosebumps sprang up along my arm so I tugged my sweater sleeves down, trying to get warmer.

After a minute of observing me, his eyes roamed over the classroom. Weird. I had never felt anything like that before. Maybe it was just a draft.

"Today, we will be discussing and observing the Unforgivable Curses." Professor Brogan leaned against his desk, hands on the edge of it. "Now, who can tell me what constitutes an Unforgivable Curse?"

Hands shot into the air, I wasn't sure if Lily or Alice was first but over half the class had their hands raised. I had thought this lesson was for fourth years, at least in the books it had been. No one seemed as if they had already learned about these curses so maybe it was a Moody thing. Or well, fake-Moody thing. Either way, I had a feeling I wasn't going to enjoy this lesson.

"Lily," Professor Brogan smiled in her direction.

Primly, Lily answered. "Unforgivable Curses are classified as such due to their morally wrong nature. The Ministry of Magic declared that any use of the Curses on another human would result in the caster being sent to Azkaban for life unless there is proof the caster did so under the Imperius Curse."

"Thank you, Lily. And you answered my next question." He grinned at her with amusement. Walking towards the blackboard to the side of his desk, he wrote Unforgivable Curses. "Now, who can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are? James?"

"Three, sir." I glanced at James. James who would be killed by one of those curses. I began to break out in a cold sweat thinking about the curses and what it meant for the students in this room.

"Yes, excellent. And can anyone name one of them?" The professor looked around and pointed. "Mr. LeStrange?"

I turned to see a dark haired Slytherin in the back corner. Large muscles bulged from his sweater. I was surprised Bellatrix's future husband wasn't as ugly as I'd pictured. Average but not butt ugly. He sat next to Severus who I hadn't noticed earlier. Severus raised an eyebrow in my direction and I turned my attention back to Rodolphus who answered Professor Brogan. "The Imperius Curse."

"Very good, the Imperius Curse. Used to control the actions of the castee." Professor Brogan leaned under the table and placed a small orange tabby in the center of his desk. He wouldn't - "A demonstration."

Flicking his wand at the tiny kitten, he cast, "Imperio."

I was going to throw up. Professor Brogan had the kitten stand on its back legs and can-can. The girls giggled as the boys clapped along. Only Sirius, Remus, and I didn't join in. "Adorable, right? What next? Jump from the balcony?"

With a flick, the kitten was now suspended on the balcony railing. Not a whisper of sound could be heard in the room as we watched the tiny animal. Brogan gave us a pointed look. "No? Maybe we could have her walk into the lake until she couldn't breathe anymore?"

Pale faces looked between the kitten and the teacher. Slowly, Brogan lowered her to the desk. The kitten meows pitifully, curling up on herself. "The good news about the Imperious Curse is that if you are strong minded, you can overcome it. If not, well, say goodbye to free will."

Looking around the silent room, he crossed his arms and leaned against the desk next to the kitten. "The next curse?" No one moved. "Come now, I am fully confident that someone knows the answer. Alice?"

"The, uh, the Cruciatus Curse." She said quietly. Now I was going to throw up. Anyone else could've answered that, why did he have to pick Alice? A movement caught my eye and I glanced over to see Sirius' fist clench tightly. My eyes flickered towards his face, his jaw tense and clenched. The mention of the Cruciatus Curse seemed to upset him and I couldn't help but wonder if the rumors of the Black family were as bad as I remembered from the books. It was never explicitly written in them but Sirius had run away from home for a reason -

"Good, Ms. Fawley." Brogan had written the curse on the board then turned back to us expectantly. "Now, the Cruciatus Curse is also known as the Torture Curse. It causes excruciating pain on its victim. Observe. Crucio."

Gasps could be heard under the screeching coming from the tiny body on the desk. Sirius' face had drained of color and others were not far behind him. Professor Brogan's attention was focused on the small writhing body at the end of his wand. I slammed my hand on the desk as hard as I could, unable to let this happen. "STOP IT."

Abruptly, Professor Brogan's attention snapped to me standing up in the middle of the classroom. The kitten's cries grew smaller but it didn't stop crying. "Ms. Rose, there is no need to yell."

"No need? You were torturing a kitten." I spat at him, my hands shaking in rage. He observed me coldly.

"I was demonstrating the Cruciatus Curse. These curses are part of our curriculum -"

"To talk about. To read about. There's absolutely no reason to demonstrate them on an innocent animal." I stomped towards the desk as I talked, steam practically coming out of my ears. "We are all capable of understanding what these curses are."

"Are you?" Brogan leaned down at eye level with me. "Then tell me, Ms. Rose, the last curse."

"No." I growled, standing about a foot away from his desk. Tiny brown eyes blinked at me.

"The last unforgivable curse, Ms. Rose. Now." Professor Brogan stared me down as if it would intimidate me.

"Go fuck yourself." I spat back. Several gasps rang out at my language.

With a raised eyebrow, Professor Brogan leaned back and pursed his lips. "Very well, Avada Ke-"

My hand shot out as fast as I possibly could.

"davra." Green light shot at Brogan's desk, burning a hole where the kitten used to be. It took a moment for him to realize there was no dead kitten there and he turned almost purple in rage. "Ms. Rose! Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"

Curling my hand tighter around the kitten pressed to my chest, I glared at the professor. I took a step back and watched him carefully. He stabbed his wand in my direction, his anger rolling off of him. "Put that animal down immediately."

"No."

"Detention, Ms. Rose. Put the animal down or it'll be two." I stood where I was, refusing to move. "Two detentions, Ms. Rose. I will not ask again."

"Good, because I'd give you the same answer and it would be a waste of time. No." A mewl could be heard from my palm but I couldn't look at the tiny thing in my hand. There was still a wand pointed at me and I wasn't sure what would happen next.

"Two weeks detention and no Hogsmeade trip next month, Ms. Rose." The blonde teacher bargained. "If that animal is not on my desk in one minute, it'll be a month's worth of detentions and no Hogsmeade trips all year."

"You say that like I care. No Hogsmeade trip is worth letting you kill an innocent animal." The rage in his eyes was terrifying. I knew at this point it was more about my defiance than the lesson. There was no way he was going to kill the kitten but he wasn't about to let me highjack his lesson and make him look like an idiot. Regardless, I was this far in, I might as well see how far I could dig this hole. "Go. Fuck. Yourself, Professor."

"OUT! Go to the Headmaster!" He yelled, throwing his hands up. I gulped, stepping back into the aisle. "Now, Rose!"

Without a glance back, I snatched my bag and raced from the room. Once in the hallway, I shakily looked down at the tiny ball of fur. The tabby clung to my sweater and watched me with wide eyes. Shit. I would be lucky if I wasn't kicked out of DADA. Not that I wanted to go back to that. How could Dumbledore allow that to happen in a class?

Speaking of Dumbledore, I had no clue how to get to his office. But I did know how to get back to Transfiguration. Silently, I walked towards the classroom I had been in earlier today.

Glancing into the room, I saw Professor McGonagall bent over a parchment on her desk. I knocked on the wooden door, hoping not to scare her. Frowning, Professor McGonagall looked up at me from her work. "Ms. Rose, can I help you?"

"I, uh, need to see Professor Dumbledore but I don't know how to get to his office." McGonagall took off her glasses and stood.

"And why, Ms. Rose, do you need to see the Headmaster?" I could hear the resignation in her voice. Maybe she really had been hoping I wouldn't be as much trouble as James and Sirius. It seemed a shame to kill her dreams so soon.

"Professor Brogan kicked me out of class." I shrugged, still clutching my hand to my chest.

"Kicked you - Ms. Rose, it's only your second day." Shaking her head, she began walking towards me. "How could -"

She stopped and looked at my hand with suspicion. "What is in your hand?"

Unfolding my hand, I held out the tabby who meowed at the professor. "Professor Brogan and I disagreed on his teaching methods."

Taking the kitten gently out of my hand, Professor McGonagall petted the cat and held it against her chest where it purred contently. "Explain."

"We were learning Unforgivable Curses." I rubbed my arm uncomfortably. "I may or may not have told him to fuck himself when he tried to demonstrate the Killing Curse. I've got detention for a month and no Hogsmeade trips all year."

McGonagall had stopped petting the kitten at the words Killing Curse and stared at me with a mix of horror and disgust. Dangerously, she asked, "Did he now?"

I nodded, unsure what else to say. She looked at me then down at the kitten then back to me. Handing the kitten back, she nodded decisively. "There is no need to see the Headmaster, Ms. Rose. And I will speak to Professor Brogan about his -" She paused with disgust on her face. "teaching methods."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You'll be permitted to go on all the Hogsmeade's trips," She held up a hand to stop me from thanking her again. "But Ms. Rose, you will need to serve a few detentions. That type of language is unacceptable towards a professor."

"Yes, Professor." I nodded gratefully. Taking that as a dismissal, I thanked her again and began to walk out. I wasn't about to push my extremely good luck right now. Her voice stopped me at the door though.

"And Ms. Rose?" I turned back to look at her. "Ten points to Gryffindor."