November 3, 1975

HER COPPER CURLS are falling into her face as her lips lift into an infectious grin that shows her teeth. She is wearing small silver hoops on her ears paired with small studs at the top of her cartilage. Her lacy red top is rather revealing but, on the other hand, isn't enough. Her bell-bottom jeans hug her curves nicely, and she stands against a pillar with her arms folded across her chest.

She is standing next to a boy with golden-brown hair and two deep dimples in his cheeks. There is also a girl with even wilder hair and darker curls. She says something and Adira laughs, although it sounds rather forced. Sirius Black can hear it all the way from where he is standing on the opposite side of the room.

There is a girl next to him called Madison or Carly or something. Sirius cannot for the life of him remember her name because he has spent the entire night admiring the petite girl across the room.

Madison—or Carly runs her fingers over Sirius's bicep, but he pays her no attention. He knows he will follow this pretty brunette into her room tonight and make it a night she won't forget, but he can't focus on her right now when there is a literal goddess standing feet away from him.

Maddy starts to lean closer to Sirius, and he can smell the alcohol and sweat on her. He subtly moves away just as there is a groan from where the ginger is standing. He looks over and sees her begging her friend to get off the floor. Her other friend stands next to them, laughing and hiccuping as he clutches his chest.

She looks so stressed and hopeless that Sirius completely forgets about Caddy and walks over to her.

"Need help?" he asks with an easy smile on his face.

The girl merely spares Sirius a glance as she says, "I'm good."

She then proceeds to struggle trying to get the tanned girl up off the floor as she drunkenly giggles. The redhead licks her lips, Sirius's eyes catching the movement.

With a heavy sigh, she turns to him. "Alright. Fine. You can help."

Flashing her a winning grin, he steps forward and easily lifts the brunette girl into his arms by tucking one arm under her knees and the other on her upper back. The ginger lets out another sigh, this time it being very strained. Sirius bites his lip to stop himself from letting out the smile that is tugging at his mouth.

The girl grabs the arm of her other friend, and he leans all his body weight on her.

He sniffs her hair and suddenly blurts, "Addie, you smell so good. I love you." He drags out the you and shuts his eyes, resorting to trusting his friend to get him back safely. He throws his arms around her shoulder and stays quiet. He is almost a whole foot taller than her, so she looks tiny with her face shoved into his chest.

Sirius can't help but chuckle at her displeased expression. He looks over at her and notices that her eyes are an extremely dark shade of green. Sirius has never seen eyes quite like hers, and he feels that if he spent long enough staring into them, he would never find his way back out.

She catches him staring at her and raises her eyebrows at him. He keeps his eyes on her even though he is walking forward with a body in his arms. She narrows her eyes at him which makes him grin at her.

"Stop it," she murmurs.

This makes Sirius grin even wider. "Stop what exactly?"

They reach the outside of the Hufflepuff common room, and she taps the specific rhythm on the barrels before they open. She shoves Sirius and her friend inside quickly.

"Stop looking at me like that and fucking smiling like a clown," she angrily huffs out.

"A clown, huh?" Sirius makes sure her friend's head is protected as he enters the common room. He is amused and can't take the girl seriously when he has to lower his head all the way down just to look her in the eyes.

She scoffs and pushes past him to what he believes is her dorm room. She steps in next to him and her friend so that they won't be thrown out since they are male. Her two other roommates are already asleep, so she shoots Sirius a glare that silently says to shut up.

"Adira, I swear I didn't steal your shoes," the brunette mumbles in her sleep in Sirius's arms.

Adira—Sirius thinks it is a beautiful name—softly chuckles and just shakes her head. Sirius finds himself staring at her again and quickly looks away when she turns her head and her eyes lock with his.

She walks over to a bed in the middle of the room and makes her friend lay down on it. He starts mumbling, but she rubs his arm soothingly and he makes himself comfortable on the bed. Soon enough, he is snoring lightly. Adira gestures for Sirius to put her other friend down as well.

He knits his eyebrows together. "Both on the same bed?"

Sighing impatiently, she whispers, "Yes. They're practically dating anyway."

Sirius shrugs and rests the brunette down on the bed next to the boy who immediately wraps an arm around her waist. She lets out a small giggle and then snuggles up next to him.

He may have been imagining it, but Sirius could have sworn he saw a small smile tugging at Adira's lips. When he looks to the side, however, she is looking at him pointedly and starts to move towards the door. Sirius stands still for a moment, staring at her back, until she looks back and raises her eyebrows as if to say what are you still doing in the room, stupid?

After the two walk out of the room, Adira quietly shuts the door behind them. They walk back to the entrance of the common room and she crosses her arms. Sirius shoves his hands in his pockets. Their eyes connect, and neither looks away.

It is silent until Adira suddenly clears her throat. "Don't you have a party to get back to?"

Sirius is broken out of his reverie and looks down at his shoes for a second before looking back up at her. "Uh, yeah... I-I guess." He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Okay then." She shakes her head at him slightly to display her confusion at why he is still there. Standing next to her.

"Right, well." Sirius starts moving to open the door and offers Adira one last glance before he steps out completely. He is at a loss for words, so he just nods and disappears behind the door.

Once the door closes, Adira stands frozen. Her breathing is a little shaky as she sighs and closes her eyes. She should have thanked him. He helped her, and she acted like a bitch. Shaking her head, she heads back to her room to get some rest.

Outside the door, Sirius doesn't move. He smiles to himself lightly and stares at the door for a second. He can't help the thought that crosses his mind in that moment.

Maybe his best friend isn't the only one into redheads.