March 21, 1976

SIRIUS IS ABOUT to turn around and head back to the school because he is sure Adira is not coming. It has been almost an hour since he has been waiting here for her, and Sirius is not sure why the rejection hurts a little more than it should.

He is about to get up off the grass where he has been sitting for the past fifty-seven minutes—yes, he counted—when he hears a soft voice behind him.

"Sorry, I'm late."

He turns his head and immediately beams at the girl standing just behind him. Her curls are tied back, but a few wisps of hair fall into her face. She stands with her arms crossed, her sweater's sleeves long enough to cover her hands up to her knuckles. Sirius decides then that perhaps, she is the most breathtaking girl he has ever laid his eyes on.

"No worries, Berry," he says as she moves towards him and sits down beside him with her arms holding her knees against her chest.

She rolls her eyes and looks at him. "Stop calling me that," she demands.

"And if I don't?" Sirius smirks at her flustered expression as she quickly tries to hide her blush.

Scoffing, she looks away from him. "Well, if you don't stop calling me that awful nickname, I'll just have to come up with one equally as awful for you."

Sirius raises his eyebrow and says, "Hit me then."

Adira turns her head, her green eyes meeting those mysterious gray ones. How many nights has she been awake, dreaming about those eyes? A light shade of gray with just a few specks of gold in only his right eye.

With careful consideration—and also just haste at the fact that Sirius is waiting for her answer—she replies, "Gray."

Sirius raises his eyebrow. "Gray?" he questions in a disbelieving tone.

Adira smiles at him. "Yes. Gray. Like your eyes. You gave me that nickname based off of my hair color so I am giving you this one based off of your eye color."

Sirius stares at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He is quiet for so long that Adira almost regrets speaking in the first place. Then, he lets out a quiet chuckle.

"Gray is so basic. At least Berry has a nice ring to it and it's actually original." He says it to make her smile, and he internally celebrates when she does.

She pretends to look offended as she softly smacks his chest. "Shut up. We can't all be conniving, prankster masterminds that come up with cool names."

Sirius laughs boisterously then, and Adira joins in. "Is that what you think I am?" he asks once their voices die down.

She turns her head and their eyes connect. "Should I?"

Her voice is so soft that Sirius exhales a deep breath. "I don't think I'm the person you should be asking that to."

Adira shrugs cluelessly. "Then who should be?"

It is quiet for a minute before Sirius deadpans, "Professor McGonagall."

The two burst out laughing again, Adira's arm coming up to rest on Sirius's shoulder as she laughs into it. The dark-haired boy's breath hitches as he stares down at the girl close to him.

Perhaps Lily is wrong. Maybe it wasn't Adira she saw in the bathroom that day or maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Sirius decides then that he wants to be Adira Hassan's friend and will do whatever it takes to become one.