***

Diana gulped as she saw Sirius, dressed in black as he leaned against the wall coolly. As soon as the stone-made entrance to the Slytherin common room closed behind her, the sound it made caught Sirius's attention.

Looking over at Diana, his grin widened as he walked away from the wall and closer toward her.

"Hello," he said in a deep and chilling voice.

     "Hey," Diana said, pursing her lips together.

     Awkward, awkward, awkward, a voice started repeating in her head in panic.

     She always hated the idea of going on dates, because it either got really cheesy, or just too awkward to handle.

     They hadn't even spoken a single sentence yet and Diana already knew where this was headed. She was just glad that at least he hadn't brought any flowers, because then it would've been both awkward and cheesy.

     "So..." Diana started, clearing her throat. "Where would we be going?"

     "You'll see," said Sirius, winking at her. Diana had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes.

     He then raised his arm for her to take. But acting as though she hadn't seen in, Diana started walking up the corridor. Sirius froze on the spot for a second before dropping his hand and clearing his throat awkwardly, pacing quickly to catch up with Diana.

     "This way," Sirius instructed as they walked out of the dungeons and up the marble staircase, reaching the entrance hall.

     Diana noticed that he was leading her out of the castle. Even though she was feeling slightly on guard, she decided not to say anything and go along with it. Layla might not have found this whole thing suspicious, but Diana was smarter than that.

     Her logic told her that Sirius Black had asked her out with a certain motive, but in order to understand what he truly wanted, she decided to go with it for a while and act along.

     Sirius had now slowed his paces and had placed his hands in his pockets, walking alongside Diana. Although she kept glancing around, afraid that his other three Gryffindor friends would appear out of nowhere and prank her.

     This thought wasn't too far fetched, because it wouldn't have been their first time to pull a prank on a Slytherin. The four boys had built quiet a reputation for that.

     "I love this time of the day," Sirius said, looking up at the golden sky as the sun was setting over the Black Lake. But there was something in the way he said it that wasn't completely believable.

     "Why?" Diana asked, finally glancing at Sirius's direction while they kept on walking side-by-side.

     "I — what?"

     "You know... you said you liked this time of the day. I was just wondering if you had particular reason for it." She shrugged.

     Diana didn't ask this just to make small-talk or to be polite. She was trying to see if he meant it genuinely, or he was just trying to win her over by pretending to be a romantic who loves sunsets. She had a feeling that he told this to all the girls he went out with.

     "W-well," Sirius started thoughtfully, trying to come up with a reason, "it looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

     "Sure," Diana muttered, stealing another glance at him. But her attention was then caught by the Quidditch field, where Sirius was apparently leading her to.

      She suddenly had a hunch as to why Sirius Black had asked her out, but she wasn't sure if she were right. She didn't want to jump in any conclusion so soon.

     "Why choose the Quidditch pitch as a date spot?" Diana asked casually, offering him a warm smile, which was far from real. "Is this where you always come with your dates, Mr. Black?" she said in a playful and flirty tone, exactly in the way Layla would speak to boys. It always seemed to worked.

     "No, I don't come here too often," Sirius confessed as they entered the field. "But it's a beautiful place to be at twilight."

     Diana couldn't deny that it truly was a pretty sight, watching the purple sky above them as they walked upon the grass field.

     "We have a lot in common, you know," Sirius started with a little smirk, catching Diana by surprise. But she tried to play along and keep on smiling.

     "How so?"

      "Well, for one, we're both Beaters," said Sirius, grinning down at her.

     And it was at that moment that it suddenly hit her.

      Her gut was right when she had gotten the feeling that he wasn't really interested in her. It was now clear to her that Sirius was planning on getting information from her about the Slytherin Quidditch team and their new strategies for the upcoming game.

     From taking her to the Quidditch field as their date, to leading the conversation toward Beaters... it was never about how romantic this place looked at sunset and twilight. He was trying to spy on her.

     But Diana's grin only widened.

Two can play at this game, pretty boy, she thought to herself slyly.

     "Oh, yeah." Diana nodded eagerly as they kept on walking in slow paces underneath the darkening sky. "Even though this is only my second year on the team, I'm really enjoying it. Although you've been on the team longer than I have. Am I right?"

    "Yeah, just a year longer. I've been playing for the Gryffindor team since third year," he replied. "What do you like most about playing Beater?"

     "I dunno... I guess when a Bludger comes right at me, I feel good knowing that I have the power in my hands to send it away. I like the rush of excitement it gives me."

     "So do I!" Sirius chuckled huskily. "I always think that the most dangerous spot in Beater, which makes it the most fun."

      "Exactly!" Diana agreed enthusiastically. "I was reading Quidditch Through Ages, and apparently Beaters didn't exist in the beginning of Quidditch's invention. But it definitely makes the game more fun, specially when you try to attack others with the bat."

     Sirius laughed. "Yeah, but defending teammates has to be the first priority."

     "I think you're wrong. No one cares about that," Diana laughed along, glad that the conversation was going exactly where she wanted it to.

     "Well, you kinda have to care if you wanna win," Sirius argued, wanting to prove that he knew exactly what he was doing. "If you don't defend your teammates and the opponent knocks them off the broom, they won't be able to win the game. Specially the Seeker."

     "Defense comes second. Anyone who says otherwise is a wuss."

     "You're wrong," he protested. "The most logical thing to do is to have one Beater as defense and the other one to attack."

     Diana smiled and said nothing else. So this is their strategy.

      Sensing that he was suddenly being manipulated to talk in her favor, Sirius shook his head, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

     "Let's not talk about Quidditch anymore," he said coolly, forcing a grin. "We're on a date, after all. We're not here to argue all night."

     "Oh, yeah?" Diana raised a brow at him as they stopped walking. "And here I was, thinking that all you wanted to talk about was actually Quidditch."

     Sirius knew now that she was onto him. He needed to do something to get it completely off her mind.

     "Well," he went on with his usual smug expression, "there are always other fun things to do on a date, other than talking."

     "Care to explain?"

     Sirius grinned, whispering, "I'll be delighted to."

     And then, before Diana knew what was happening, Sirius had quickly walked toward her and so she had to take a few steps away. Her back suddenly hit the wall behind her which belonged to one of the stands, and as she looked up, she found his face only inches away from hers.