February 2, 1976

HE DOESN'T EVEN realize it, but his gaze immediately cuts to her the second she walks into the potions classroom. And how could it not? She is so breathtakingly beautiful that even after three months of endless stares and longing glances, Sirius is still not satisfied. He doesn't think he ever will be.

She has an effortless expression on her face, despite the sadness she displayed at his birthday party. Her hair looks wet, and Sirius believes she may have just washed it. Her school blazer has long since been discarded, her yellow and black tie loosened around her neck with the top of her shirt unbuttoned.

His eyes follow her all the way to her seat in the row right in front of Lily Evans, the longtime crush of his best friend. She is alone today, he notices, none of her friends in sight. Her face is impenetrable and nonchalant, but her knee is bouncing. And that gives it away.

She is anxious.

Sirius wants to know why, but the girl hasn't paid him any attention since the night of his party. Not even a single glance. Not a single time her eyes have landed on his. It is almost as if she is calculating his every move to make sure hers don't align with his.

The class drones on with Slughorn lecturing about an illegal potion and Sirius's eyes never leaving Adira. There is a point when she lets out an irritable sigh, but the reason behind it is unknown unless it is because of Slughorn's boring lesson.

Then, suddenly, her eyes land on his. Sirius thinks he forgets how to breathe. Neither of them looks away. Her dark eyes are much more intense than she lets on, and he finds that he could get lost in them for days with no way out. It seems as though the two have turned this into a staring contest, and both are too stubborn to back out and lose. Slughorn's voice fades in the background as the eye contact grows heated.

Her eyebrows are pulled together, and she almost looks angry as she stares him down. Then, abruptly, she turns her head to face the front and her eyes don't stray again.

The second the class is over, Adira is out the door before Sirius can blink. His first thought is to follow her, but then he thinks, why would he do that? They are not friends. They have had one conversation—if that even counts as a conversation.

He catches Lily Evans before she leaves the room.

"Evans," he calls out, making the redhead spin around to face him.

She rolls her eyes before saying, "For the last time, Black. I am not going out with Potter. Not now, not ever."

His face displays confusion, and then he lets out a small chuckle. "Contrary to what you believe, I'm not here to help James out."

Lily furrows her eyebrows. "Then what..."

"What do you know about Adira Hassan?" He says it in a way that makes him seem innocent, but Lily knows he is anything but.

She frowns. "Why do you want to know?"

Sirius fumbles for words as he stutters, "Well, you know, I-I just thought that I've never really talked to her before, and I was curious.

"You were curious?" You can hear the disbelief in her voice, but Sirius is not deterred.

He shrugs. "Yes. Yes, I was."

Lily sighs but answers him. "I've talked to her maybe two times for class assignments. She keeps to herself, I believe. Listen, Sirius, I don't think you should get caught up with her."

At this, Sirius knits his brows together and frowns wholeheartedly. "What? What do you mean?"

Lily glances around the empty classroom before she leans in closer to whisper, "Once I saw her applying makeup in the bathroom. Except she wasn't putting it on her face. She was putting it on her chest, and I saw a dark smudge there. I wasn't close enough to see exactly what it was, but I would bet anything that it was some sort of a bruise."

"A bruise?" Sirius starts to grow worried. Is someone hurting Adira? Is she hurting herself?

Lily nods and offers him a small smile. "You're a good guy, Sirius. But I think Adira is dealing with a lot right now and doesn't need another distraction. You should stay away from her."

With that, Lily turns and walks out without waiting for Sirius's response. He looks down at his feet and heaves a deep breath.

Maybe Lily is right. Maybe chasing someone that doesn't want to run is pointless. Maybe he should get rid of this childish fantasy he has of her.

Maybe he needs to forget about Adira Hassan.