If Love is a Game...

Lanni Weasley

Story Summary:
It's the Marauders' final year at Hogwarts and they have everything - and that includes a few big problems. James matures and finally wins over Lily; Remus falls head over heels for Lucius Malfoy's cousin; and Sirius finally gets the girls of his dreams. But that girl is supposed to marry Malfoy and her parents hate Sirius and her friends. Soon, she must choose between being the next Mrs. Lucius Malfoy or the early deaths of Sirius and her friends. Deep trouble is on the horizon of bliss.

Chapter 04

Chapter Summary:
It's James's and Sirius's Seventh Year at Hogwarts and they have everything - although a few big problems. James matures and finally wins over Lily; Remus falls for Lucius Malfoy's cousin; and Sirius finally gets the girls of his dreams. But that girl is supposed to marry Malfoy and her parents hate Sirius and her friends. Soon, she must choose between being the next Mrs. Lucius Malfoy or the early deaths of Sirius and her friends. Deep trouble is on the horizon of bliss. CH4: In Transfiguration, Sirius hooks Krystyna in to join the Marauders on a prank, which is the beginning of a reluctant revelation.
Posted:
08/13/2004
Hits:
1,279
Author's Note:
I've added


Chapter Four
Transfiguration Schemes

In her blind fury, Krystyna had become lost in Hogwarts. Soon enough though, she found the Transfiguration classroom. Lucky for her, she'd left breakfast earlier than planned so she'd had plenty of time. She pushed the door open. A few people looked back at her. Then, she remembered: First class was with Ravenclaws. She sighed with relief that Slytherins weren't in her first class of the year as she shut the door behind herself as quietly as possible.

She looked around for a seat. Lily looked back at her apologetically. A Ravenclaw girl, Chloe Reagan, had taken over the seat. Krystyna shrugged her shoulders and smiled. She scanned the room for an empty seat. However, when she found it, she scanned the room one more time for a different seat but found none.

What was the problem? The only seat was next to Sirius Black. Last year and all summer, Krystyna would've hated it because he had a huge ego and loved to show off for her. But for some reason, she felt differently, even though he appeared to be the same, ego and all.

Now, she just felt uncomfortable sitting beside him. She would not get anything accomplished probably. Still, she pulled her backpack higher on her shoulder and sat down in the seat. She let the bag slid down her arm and onto the floor. She distinctly heard James snigger as she pulled her quill and parchment out for notes.

The bell rang and Professor McGonagall started the class. She was reviewing things from their last six years. When she landed on the topic of Animagi, one of Krystyna's favorite parts of Transfiguration, she thought she heard Sirius try to stifle a snicker, but failed. James wheeled around in his seat next to Remus and grinned at Sirius. Peter stuck his quill in his mouth (a sugar quill, no doubt) and Remus bit his bottom lip. All of these were obvious signs that they were hiding something, but Krystyna had more important things on her mind than to make Remus tell her what it was.

"I'd like you to open your books to pages five and six and begin to read," Professor McGonagall announced suddenly. After almost literally jumping out of her reverie, Krystyna dug her hand in her bag but found nothing.

Oh great, Krystyna thought as she lifted her hand out of her bag. I forgot it in my dormitory. How am I supposed to read without a book?

She looked over and saw Sirius heave his Transfiguration book on the desk. He opened it and flipped the pages absentmindedly. So far, no showing off... And he had a book...

Oh no, I just can't share a book with him! Krystyna thought worriedly. I mean...I just...can't.

A loud voice in her mind nagged her: It's either ask if you can read off of his or you fail your first lesson because you'll have something to do after you finish reading and you won't know what to do. The voice sounded strangely like Lorena.

Well, since you put it that way... Krystyna thought, feeling defeated. I guess I'll have to ask if I can read off of his. This is the best day of my life already. First, Lucius Malfoy tries to kiss me, so I have to leave breakfast before I can eat well and I waste my orange juice; I get lost; I'm almost late for Transfiguration; I have to sit by Sirius Black - not that he's bad or anything - and I forget my Transfiguration book in the dormitory. I wonder what else today will bring.

Krystyna rolled her eyes. She leaned over to Sirius a little.

"Er, excuse me, Sirius?" Krystyna whispered. Sirius immediately jerked his head to look at her in her face. His eyes locked on hers, and she temporarily forgot what she was about to ask. "Er..."

However, Sirius appeared to be amused by her temporary loss of speech; he grinned. "What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking as he stared into Krystyna's eyes. "Lost the ability to speak, have we? Kneezle got your tongue?"

Suddenly, it came to her. "Oh, um, may I read off of your Transfiguration book, too?" Krystyna asked quietly. "I've seemed to have left mine in my dormitory."

Sirius just stared at her blankly. She stared back, waiting for an answer.

She wants to look off of my book! She wants to look off of my book! Okay, calm down, Sirius, it's just a book. She doesn't have hers. She would've done the same if it were Remus or James; it's not like it's me or anything. But she forgot was she was going to say! And it's hard to stop shaking. I have to breathe, Sirius thought happily. Wait; she wants to look off of my book! I have to move it so she can read.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Sirius muttered. He slid his book over to her, his hands shaking slightly.

Krystyna looked up at him when he stopped and looked at her. "Thanks," she murmured.

"You're welcome," Sirius sighed. Krystyna smiled and looked down at the book.

Soon, Sirius forgot he was supposed to be reading and continued to stare at Krystyna as she read.

She's so beautiful, and she looks so cute when she's reading and trying to concentrate, Sirius found himself thinking. Look at how her black hair slides past her ears and in front of her eyes. Her cheeks are a little rosy, especially in the spot Malfoy put his hand on. That stupid git, he'll pay.

Although Krystyna was reading, she could feel Sirius's burning gaze trapped on her. It was starting to make her more uncomfortable by the second and - it felt like someone stuck a torch beside her head - she was burning up. She could feel sweat forming on her and some trickled between her shoulder blades on her back.

It was that she didn't like Sirius and his staring at her made her uncomfortable. It was only the start of school yet already her judgment of people she thought she knew were melting into other thoughts. She knew who and what Sirius Black was, but now, she couldn't help but notice the shift of her views of him. She wasn't sure if she liked him like that or not; his staring at her made her feel uncomfortable; and she didn't feel that it was horrific sitting beside him. Almost feeling like she was being overcome with some strange nausea, Krystyna looked up at him, head still bent over the book; her eyes were the only things to move.

They locked on Sirius's eyes for a second; and then he seemed to realize that he was staring at her. He snapped his eyes onto the book, cheeks turning slightly pink, and Krystyna rolled her eyes down to the book.

After Sirius had finished reading, he leaned back in his seat. He found himself wondering what to do. Usually, he'd look around the room until he found Krystyna reading, but at the moment, she was sitting right beside him so he couldn't really watch her. He'd already found that out before he'd started reading. Maybe he'd write a note to James or Remus. Peter was engrossed in his book and couldn't seem to be bothered. However, James and Remus were talking and were in the table in front of him; it was hard to pass notes when James was at a different table.

Krystyna finished and sat back up straight. Sirius took a chance and glanced over at her; she was pulling her wand out of her backpack - a sleek, dark wooded, nine and a half inch. Sirius pulled out his wand - a shiny, dark wooded, ten and a three fourths inch.

"You should have finished reading now," McGonagall stated loudly, interrupting everyone and everything and pulling them back to attention. Near the front, Sara looked panicked, like she hadn't finished reading; Lorena jerked her head up from her desk and then poked Sara in the back of the head with her wand to calm Sara down. McGonagall was pacing up front. "Now, as you've probably guessed, we'll be transfiguring black hats into cats."

"Black cats, Professor?" a Ravenclaw boy, Hector Bridges, questioned, his eyes wide.

"Yes, Bridges, black cats of course," McGonagall sighed, probably wondering how he'd gotten into Ravenclaw. James made a few circular movements with his finger at the side of his head. Sirius snickered. "Pull out the hats."

Everyone sat their black hats on the desk in front of them. After looking side to side, James tapped his hat and sat it on his head. He turned back around to Peter, Sirius, and Krystyna and looked up at the hat on his head.

"Look, it's the Sorting Hat's gone-wrong brother," the hat whispered. Sirius and Peter sniggered while Remus starting chortling quietly. "Apparently, unlike the Sorting Hat, it talks out loud, exposing your darkest secrets."

James's eyes flickered to Krystyna, making her feel a bit uneasy. He began to snicker and so did the hat. Krystyna bit her lip to stop herself from laughing; she had to admit, it was funny.

"Mr. James Potter, I see that," McGonagall cut in from the front, frowning.

James spun around, staring at his Professor silently, and the hat voiced his thoughts, saying loudly, "Uh oh, I'm in trouble." More people started to giggle and snicker quietly.

"Though I am not scolding you genius...please, quickly return your hat to normal and set it back on the table before I am forced to give you detention on your first day back," McGonagall ordered. James returned the hat to normal and sat the hat back on the desk; he smiled and sat up straight, looking attentive. Peter snickered again. "Start now; you have the rest of the class time to transfigure the hat."

Immediately, the classroom started to become loud with everyone saying the spell. Most everyone, however, was unsuccessful. Out of her friends up front, Sara was doing the best; Lily was not exactly fond of Transfiguration (she liked Charms the best) so she was barely paying attention; Lorena looked to be having some difficulty as her cat had just turned bubble-gum pink.

Sirius moved his wand around, said the spell, and transfigured his hat into one beautiful black cat. It purred, walked in a circle, and laid down on the desk. Sirius sat his wand down and curiously looked over to see how Krystyna was doing.

Krystyna picked up her wand and felt his burning stare on her again. Determined not to look at him, get him to stop staring at her (Or stare at you more, a wicked voice in her mind said, again sounding like Lorena), and to do the spell correctly, she tried to ignore him - quite uselessly. She pointed her wand at her hat, said the curse, and flicked her wand.

But instead of turning into a black cat, a white tail sprout of the back of her hat; white ears popped out of the top; it grew thick, long whiskers; black legs came out of the bottom; large yellow eyes appeared; and there was a splitting sound bellow the eyes. Suddenly, the hat/cat started to meow and purr, staggering around. Startled, Krystyna pulled her wand back to her chest quickly and stared at it in a mixture of horror and confusion. Peter began to snicker, but immediately ceased when Sirius looked daggers at him. Krystyna sighed and changed it back to normal, sulking in her defeat.

"Here, you're flicking your wand too hard," Sirius told her, putting his hand over hers so that was directing her wand, yet she was the one holding it. He held her hand tightly out of nervousness. Immediately, both of them began to burn up, and he silently pleaded to not get sweaty palms. He started shaking only a little, but enough that it was visible, unaware of doing so. He really hoped that Krystyna couldn't tell. "You have to have smoother motions. Like this-"

Sirius moved Krystyna's hand and wand around in a clockwise circle and then a counter-clockwise half circle. He then slowly and smoothly flicked the wand, pointing it at the hat. It did nothing because Krystyna said or thought nothing. At the moment, she was currently stunned that Sirius had grabbed her hand and was showing her how to do the spell. When he finished, she snapped out of her trancelike state.

"Could you do that again so I can remember?" Krystyna asked, looking over at him. Confusion crackled in her brain; she already knew what she was doing now; she didn't need him to show her again.

Well, it's rather simple, you see, said the silky voice. Sirius holding your hand is a pleasant sensation, wouldn't you say?

"Um, sure, no problem" Sirius said. Though part of him wanted to let go of her because he was starting to sweat and shake more, the rest of him was cheering loudly. He should be happy for an excuse to hold her hand - at her asking, too. "Say the spell this time and see what it does."

Krystyna nodded her stiff head. He scooted his seat closer to her so it didn't feel so awkward. When Sirius's arm brushed against Krystyna's, she immediately began to burn on the spot and was relieved when he moved a little so that they weren't touching anymore. He moved the wand around and she said the spell. The black hat immediately turned into a black cat with very slick fur.

Krystyna grinned, speaking the words she never thought she'd say. "A little greasy, wouldn't you say?" she giggled.

I did not just giggle, Krystyna yelled in her mind. She found it strange to "hear" herself think that; normally it was Lorena who said that (right after whenever she was far too close to Remus Lupin). It had to be because she was so close to Sirius, but upon further thinking, that wasn't a good sign either.

Sirius felt his cheeks burn; he'd gone a little too fast and made the fur shiny and greasy, reminding them both of Severus Snape. After they stopped laughing, they stared at each other. After a minute, Krystyna grinned nervously. "Er, I think I can do it by myself now. You don't have to hold my hand and move my wand for me anymore."

Sirius quickly released Krystyna's hand and pocketed his hand quickly, red creeping on his cheeks. Krystyna felt relieved that he wasn't so near her anymore because she felt like fainting. She tried not to think about that realization though.

"Thanks, Sirius."

She hadn't even caught that she'd been calling him by his first name ever since entering Transfiguration as she turned the cat back into a hat. Sirius, however, was a much different story. It had been the fourth time she'd called him by his first name. He felt a jolt of ecstasy and a small wave of nausea roll over him. He was so ecstatic that he felt sick a little; maybe that wasn't a good thing.

Krystyna waved her wand around slowly, repeating Sirius's smooth motions and said the spell. The hat turned into a cat with fluffy black fur with yellow eyes. It purred as Krystyna scratched it behind the ear and it sat down. She smiled and sighed happily.

Are you smiling at your helped accomplishment or the fact that Sirius Black just held your hand and helped you accomplish this? the voice nagged at her. She pointedly ignored the voice.

But Krystyna continued to smile. She might've been happy about her accomplishment, but Sirius grabbing her hand suddenly had given her a jolt of glee like she'd never felt before.

Methinks that someone is starting to like Mr. Black, the voice continued in a singsong voice.

Krystyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe I am...

The voice didn't say anything else to her, knowing when to stop. Both Sirius and Krystyna were itching to talk to someone - or rather to each other - but knew of nothing to say. Krystyna glanced at Sirius's cat that was now doing a trick.

"That's smart," Krystyna blurted out thickly. She slapped herself mentally, but continued, "How did you get it to do that?"

"It's a simple charm really," Sirius replied calmly. He told her what it was and then watched her try it on her cat. On the first try, she got it right. "See? Easy as pie, you got it!"

Krystyna smiled brightly, her eyes almost glowing. James poked Sirius in the shin with his wand; he jumped, muttering a curse at James as he bent down to rub his knee. Knowing what that meant, Sirius stared at James, but James just grinned.

"What?" Krystyna asked.

Sirius looked back at Krystyna. "Er...say, d'you think you might want to, er, do something with me - us - tonight?" Sirius asked.

Krystyna gulped. Her brain told her to say exactly what she'd said for the past six years, but she ignored it. She felt a bit reckless at the moment. What was she getting herself into?

"Like what?" she questioned softly.

Sirius looked around at James, but James wasn't looking at him anymore. Neither was Remus or Peter. Sirius glowered at Peter, who turned pink; the three of them were ignoring him purposely. He turned back to Krystyna, who was watching him curiously.

"Like...uh...do you want to get in on a joke on Professor Lector and the Slytherins?" Sirius blurted out.

Even with all recklessness aside, at first, the words of getting ready to join in were at the tip of her tongue, images of getting revenge on Malfoy popping in her head. But then, she hesitated when the thought of punishment and her loyal duty as a Prefect interrupted the sudden reckless thought. This was Sirius Black and James Potter she was dealing with - the two boys she'd ranted and taken points away from many times for bullying.

Remus, as if smelling Krystyna's hesitation, leaned back in his seat to look her in the face. "C'mon, Krystyna, you can get back at Malfoy for this morning tomorrow," Remus told her, grinning. "And James is going to ask Lily if she wants to come."

"Lily?" Krystyna questioned suddenly. Remus nodded his head and leaned back on all fours of his chair. "Lily would never agree; you all know that. She refuses to break the rules."

"It's only breaking the rules if you get caught," James explained smoothly, "like lying. And you and Lily lie, don't you?" Krystyna chose not to say anything. "Look, Lily and I talked last night" - Krystyna raised her eyebrows in surprise - "and she's had enough with Lector and his unfairness. It's time for a bit of payback."

"If we get caught, you won't get in trouble," Sirius said immediately. "We'll take the fall-"

"-and proudly at that," James added. "Rules are meant to be broken, Miss Melanie; otherwise, life would be rather dull."

Krystyna looked back at Remus. "What about Prefect duties?"

"We'll do them earlier so we can at least do some homework" - he glowered at Sirius and James, both of whom began to find the ceiling very interesting - "done."

"Besides," James said, looking back at her, "Lily and I have a meeting with Dumbledore about a few things concerning the year so you can do your little Prefect patrols while our meeting so it coincides and nothing is left out."

"And what about Sara and Lorena?" Krystyna demanded. "I'll feel bad if I just leave them out!"

"Didn't you mention something about Fawcett talking with McGonagall about a few after-Hogwarts stuff?" James piped up, looking over to Remus. Krystyna looked over to him, too, feeling a bit stunned again. Remus was staring at the floor, red in the face, and muttered something incomprehensible. James looked up at Sirius, looking satisfied with Remus's answer.

"Whitfield is in the Charms Club, isn't she?" Sirius pointed out. Krystyna nodded her head. "They have a meeting tonight, too, to see who's coming back. I heard some third year Ravenclaw talking about it."

"Geez, I miss the Charms Club," James sighed reminiscently.

Krystyna threw him a shocked look. "You were in the Charms Club?" She was astonished; James didn't seem like the person to be in the Charms Club. She couldn't picture it.

"We all were," Peter said quietly.

"Until James and Sirius got us thrown out," Remus added somewhat reproachfully, glowering. James and Sirius grinned sheepishly at each other. "They charmed all the books to eat everyone's hair."

"Well, it seemed funny at the time," James said cheerfully.

"Until it began to eat Remus's hair, and then he hexed James so that he was walking like he had a broom stuck up his arse for a week," Sirius laughed. Krystyna smiled, despite that it was against her views of right and wrong; she could just picture Remus doing that. "He sicked a book on me. Jeremy Higgins chucked us out; he was the President at the time - he a huge seventh year Ravenclaw-"

"We were third years," Peter sighed.

"But now that we've bored you with the land of back-story," Sirius declared firmly, pulling Krystyna's attention again, "what about our proposition? Would you like to get revenge on the ickle Slytherins and Lector? I know you don't like Lector since he's taken a disliking to Whitfield a lot."

Krystyna thought about it, unsure why she didn't feel so worried about what she going to say; she took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'm in," Krystyna whispered. Sirius about jumped out of his seat, he was so happy. James and Remus high-fived. "But you have to tell me what we're doing exactly. I refuse to be left out."

Sirius glanced at James, who shrugged, as if giving his approval. Sirius looked back to Krystyna.

"Well, you remember that we're doing the Hair Color Changing Potion tomorrow, right?" he explained.

Krystyna shook her head. "We haven't had class yet, Sirius."

"He talked about it a lot last year, almost every time he looked at Remus," James pointed out.

Remus shot James a glare and then ran his fingers through his hair unconsciously. Peter snorted into his book.

"Oh, yes, now I remember," Krystyna said. "By the way, Remus, I like your hair just the way it is."

Remus turned a little pink.

And so does Lorena, Krystyna thought, trying her best not to grin suddenly.

"Well, tomorrow, if everything goes smoothly, when the Slytherins put it on their heads, their hair will disappear!" Sirius exclaimed quietly. Krystyna grinned at a sudden thought. "It was my idea."

"I can't wait to see Malfoy without his" - Krystyna giggled, and then she made a misty, dazed voice only she could do - "beautiful, long, sleek, blonde hair." She stopped in many giggles and Sirius laughed. Then, she stopped and pulled herself together. "Wait; how are we going to do that tonight?"

James and Sirius looked at each other and grinned.

"We'll just have to break into Lector's office and switch a few ingredients with the real needed ingredients," Sirius mumbled happily, a grin spreading on his face. It took all of James's power to not laugh. Peter bit his lip as he moved his wand again and said the spell, causing the black hat to turn into a hairless cat.

Krystyna let out of snigger while James shook his head and Sirius squirmed in his seat. Remus was struggling to keep a straight face as he pet his black cat absentmindedly, closing his book and dropping it in his bag.

"Break into his office?" Krystyna said, now beginning to think that she'd landed herself into some scolding hot water. That went against everything she believed. She could pull a prank with Sirius, but breaking into a professor's office - it seemed unreal and illogical.

But Remus shook his head at her dubious expression. "We've done it countless times, Krystyna," he told her firmly. "Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. I mean, Malfoy, Lestrange, and Snape broke into the Charms classroom to fix up the Gryffindor seats. You should remember that."

Krystyna could only scowl at the memory of when her seat had wrapped its arms around her, carried her to the other side, and threw her right into Lucius Malfoy's lap during Charms class in last year. This seemed to revive her to stick with it.

"Okay, okay, fair enough," Krystyna sighed, forgetting to regret her decision. James smiled and Sirius's grin only broadened, if possible, and turned a little red in the cheeks.

Krystyna's actually going to do some law breaking with me - us - no doubt! I think this could be one of the best memories of my life! Sirius thought joyfully, watching her twirl her wand in her fingers out of habit. Then, he looked at James who was talking to Remus in a very low voice that he couldn't hear. James eyes darted from Krystyna to Sirius and back to Remus in a second. Uh oh, I've seen that look in his eyes before. I wonder what James is going to do? It better not involve Krystyna and me or something like that, but from the looks of it... Looks like something more is going to happen tonight.

However, if it was so serious that Sirius knew about it, he did nothing to stop it. He didn't ask or anything. What was going to happen was going to happen, and he was sure not going to stop it. Remus stifled some sniggers. Peter finally transfigured his black hat into a black and grey cat that he settled with.

"Can you wait 'till tonight?" Sirius sighed, leaning back in his chair, looking over at Krystyna. She grinned at him.

"No, I can't," Krystyna replied truthfully. Sirius almost fell out of his chair.

What would Lorena and Sara say? She could just picture Lorena saying, "Love is in the air!" and laughing loudly as Sara would demand, "Did Black or Potter confund you in Transfiguration?" Krystyna sincerely hoped Lily agreed to go along with James on this; she didn't want to be the only girl.

The bell rang loudly. Everyone stood up, hustling to gather their things, and exited it out of the classroom in no particular order. After waving to Sirius, Krystyna met up with Lily, Lorena, and Sara outside of the classroom.

"Oy, Lily, I need to speak with you!" James shouted through the crowd.

Lily blushed. "Er, be with you all in a sec; Head Boy and Girl issues must've aroused," she muttered embarrassedly before running over to James. They all giggled.

"Yeah...boy and girl issues," Sara giggled. They all sniggered. They were quiet for a second. Lorena and Sara looked at each other, grinned, and then looked at Krystyna. Sara started giggling right when Krystyna felt someone passed behind her.

"What-?" Krystyna spun around just in time to see Sirius Black muttering an apology and then sprint to catch up with Peter, who was in a hurry to get to Care of Magical Creatures on the Hogwarts' grounds. Krystyna rolled her eyes and looked back at Lorena and Sara. "You two are acting like nitwits."

"I wasn't doing anything!" Lorena said. Krystyna frowned at Lorena, knowing a lot better. Sara was still giggling and Lorena burst out laughing. Krystyna rolled her eyes again. They stopped and just goggled at Krystyna. She stared right back at them and they looked at each other, grinning again, and looked back at Krystyna.

"What are you looking at?" Krystyna questioned them curiously. "I can't be that interesting, can I?"

"Well, to Sirius Black you certainly are," Sara giggled. Lorena laughed.

"Huh? Yeah, he was looking at me, but..." Krystyna tried to think of a good excuse. "He only was to see if I would be able to do the spell right. And so were Potter and Remus!"

"Oh, yeah, but they weren't ogling at you," Lorena replied smoothly.

"No one says that word anymore, Lorena," Krystyna pointed out, staring at Lorena. "And Sirius wasn't - er - ogling at me."

"Oh, please, give me a break from that crap, Krystyna," Lorena replied seriously. Krystyna was not deterred by Lorena's firmness or rudeness; she was used to it - and it came in handy a lot. "He was giving you a good look-over. I could see it in his eyes."

"So... what did you talk about?" Sara questioned.

"The, er, spell and some little trick he did with his transfigured cat," Krystyna answered. "You should've seen the trick; it was really-"She cut herself off; she could feel the blush slowly setting in her cheeks. Lorena smirked.

"He grabbed your hand!" Sara squealed girlishly. "I saw it so don't you even try to deny it. And you know what; you didn't jerk your hand away or anything! You were in complete shock! Also, you asked him to show you it again. It was so cute. I mean, you two look so cute together." At this, Krystyna turned scarlet. She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Lily said it was sweet," Lorena commented vaguely, looking down at her nails.

Why didn't you just take your hand away? Why did you keep it there? Krystyna scolded herself in her mind furiously. Why? Why?

Because... Krystyna thought of the answer. Why didn't she take her hand out of his? Why did she let him hold it? Why was she embarrassed? Why did she ask him to show do it again? Why did she just sit there, completely amazed, and let him handle her? Why? She had an answer in her mind, but it couldn't be right. It had to be wrong. It wasn't right. She was losing her mind--but the only possible answer was the truth and the truth always didn't feel right. Because...I guess I like him.

"Why did you let him hold and guide your hand like that?" Sara asked softly. "That's not like you at all. I thought you would've screamed or something."

Krystyna shook her head.

After this morning with Malfoy... I think I...I...I don't know what I think actually, Krystyna thought, confusing herself. When Malfoy put his hand on my cheek, it was cold and a little rough... It made me shiver. When we ran into each other late at night in the lonely corridors that one night last year after the exams, I...I... When he walked towards me and the way he looked at me...I felt...I felt afraid. I was scared of him. And I'm not supposed to be afraid of anyone.

And my parents want me to marry him! They want me to marry someone who I'm afraid of! But...I can't tell them that. No way, I just can't. They'll think I'm weird or something.

Lorena and Sara stared at Krystyna, waiting for an answer. But when they saw her eyes dart around them, they knew she was thinking about something. And it was better not to disturb Krystyna when she was thinking. It was usually something important; the troubled look on her face only increased the chance of important thoughts. Lorena sighed and looked at her watch impatiently; Sara nudged her in the ribs.

But in Transfiguration with Sirius...I... When he grabbed my hand just to guide me through the motions, I felt...I felt safe and happy. I felt like nothing could possibly ever happen to me. I felt like - I'm going crazy, I'm sure of it - like he could protect me from the things I'm afraid of, like Malfoy. His hands were warm and soft...and I started to burn up on the spot. This is just too strange.

And his eyes... I...I just can't help but fall into them and lose myself - but in a good way! In a way, I lose myself, but find myself. Does that even make sense? No, probably not. It's just, I love his eyes and when he's nervous...he's funny. I mean, he's funny usually - except when he acts all arrogant and stuff - but it's just even more so when he gets nervous! Krystyna thought. What am I doing again?

"Methinks someone is starting to like Mr. Black," Lorena said loudly. Krystyna snapped her attention to Lorena. She opened her mouth to tell them to come with her to a more secret place when someone grabbed her wrist. She turned around quickly to see that it was Lucius Malfoy.

"What did I tell you this morning?" Krystyna snapped.

Lucius just frowned. "Oh, this really hurts me, Krystyna," he said, his hand over where his heart should be, if he even had a heart. "I came here to apologize to you."

She could still smell the orange juice on his skin, on his robes, in his hair.

"Apologize to her for what, Malfoy?" Lorena questioned hotly, stepping forward.

Lucius glowered at her, but she didn't back down. In fact, she arched her eyebrow, as if challenging him. Even though he was taller than her, she didn't appear to have noticed; her hands were balled up into fists.

"Dear cousin, why do you always speak to me with that tone?" Lucius asked coolly.

Lorena rolled her eyes. "Because every time you talk to Krystyna, you act like an impudent prat," Lorena said irritably, her mouth twisted angrily. Lucius merely shook his head, still gripping Krystyna's wrist.

"Well, you may think that if you like, cousin," Lucius sighed. Then, he looked back down at Krystyna and smiled. It looked almost demented; perhaps he should stick to smirking. "I'm deeply sorry for disturbing your morning, Krystyna. In fact, I couldn't think about anything else but that through all of Herbology."

"I'm sure you couldn't," Krystyna muttered furiously. "Orange juice was probably all you could smell throughout the entire class."

However, Lucius only grinned lightly. She hated the look. It only made him look more diabolical; but it was a look that practically hypnotized people, forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. Sometimes, it was because of fear or because - to a few, insane girls - he looked handsome. It made Krystyna fear him, but she showed her fear with irritation.

"I happen to like the smell," Lucius said thoughtfully. "Anyways, since I'm going to the same class as you are, I would like to walk you to your next class."

"I'd rather walk with Severus Snape," Krystyna snapped. She thought back on her remark on him. She asked for forgiveness in her mind, remembering that Potter hexed him every chance he got. The last time she'd taken points away.

"Oh, come on, it won't hurt you," Lucius said playfully.

"It will, too, hurt me if Miss Narcissa Black sees me with you," Krystyna said. "It'll also hurt my psyche, and I just can't do that."

"Just leave her alone, Malfoy!" Lorena said loudly.

Lucius looked at her. "You're going to be late for your little meeting with Professor Lector," Lucius noted lazily. Lorena bit her lip. Krystyna and Sara stared at her, confused. "You remember the little meeting your father set up for you with me?" Lorena huffed furiously as he smirked. "Best get a move on. If you're late for it, he'll give you a detention for sure."

"Don't worry; I can take care of him by myself," Krystyna whispered to her so that Lucius couldn't hear. Lorena bit her lip so hard that it actually began to bleed when her teeth punctured it slightly. She continued glaring at her cousin until Sara coerced Lorena to head for Lector's office; Sara, herself, had Care of Magical Creatures. Krystyna looked back at Lucius when her friends rounded the corner. Only a few other people were in the corridor besides them.

"C'mon, I'll walk you to Arithmancy," Lucius told her.

"I'd rather not," Krystyna replied, trying to pull her wrist out of Lucius's strong grip. He held onto it even tighter. He leaned down a little and got inches from her face. She held her breath, but continued to tug.

"Why? Would you rather Sirius Black walk you to class?" Lucius hissed in her ear. Krystyna immediately stopped tugging and stared into his cold grey eyes. She shivered. Was it just her or did it just get a few degrees colder? Lucius looked at her, and she pulled her face away from him, not answering him. He stood up straight and frowned. "You would, wouldn't you?"

"I didn't say that," Krystyna muttered, tugging on her wrist weakly. It was only futile. She looked back up at him, trying her best to glare hard. The more she was around him, the weaker she felt. Sometimes, she wished she was as reckless and stubborn as Lorena because it paid off in moments like these.

Determined to capture her Gryffindor flame again, she thought of how much she loathed and hated him. She thought of all the things he'd said about Lily in the past. Finally, the anger was building up inside her but too slowly. His grip on her wrist tightened, and he pulled on her.

"C'mon, let's walk," Lucius told her. He went on her other side and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Immediately, the flame was doused by a large amount of fear and coldness when she pressed against him. She tried to pull away, but she felt tired.

"No, I don't want to," Krystyna said, trying to be brave. There was nothing to be afraid about. Nothing at all. But again, they were alone in the corridor, and there was no one to save her from her fear. "Just leave me alone."

Ah, great, I have no orange juice to douse him in again, Krystyna thought, humor was her last stitch effort to reclaim her boldness. But it was futile. Why was she even trying?

"You know," Lucius said thoughtfully as they began walking, "I do believe this is the closest we've been throughout our years together."

"And I never intended on being this close ever and definitely not right now," Krystyna growled spitefully, but obediently walking with him without resisting.

"I think I really like it," Lucius sighed.

"I think I really hate it," Krystyna growled, closing her eyes and trying to imagine that this wasn't happening and she was just asleep. But then, her Transfiguration class wouldn't have happened, and she wanted it to happen. "Malfoy, please, just leave me alone. I'm too tired for this trouble and I just want to be alone for a few."

Lucius looked down at her incredulously. "Are you pleading with me?" Lucius questioned, his eyebrows raised. "Is Krystyna Melanie actually pleading with me to let go of her? Is she actually showing weakness to me? I never thought that I would live to see the day."

"Well, most of us thought Lorena would kill you by then," Krystyna snarled. "Just shut up and let go of me, Malfoy, I'm in no mood and I can't take the trouble right now. I'm too tired."

"Well, then, maybe I should take you to your bed instead."

Krystyna tried to elbow him in the ribs, but in the position he had her in, she couldn't really do that. Instead, she managed to somehow push onto herself.

The bell rang, signaling that they were late. Malfoy sighed, looking around. "Well, we might as well take our time since we're late."

"No, I don't want to spend another second with you," Krystyna said loudly. "Let go of me."

"Um...no, I don't think I will."

"Yes, I do think you will! Let go!"

"No."

The flame roared again and all her energy came back to her. She fell sideways, pushing him to the right and jamming Lucius between her and the stone wall. He grunted a little. She pushed him harder until he finally let go of her wrist. She broke away from him and staggered backwards, searching for her wand.

"Looking for this?" Krystyna looked up. Lucius was twirling her wand between his fingers, grinning broadly, advancing on her. "I didn't want you to get hold of it if something like this happened. And it did."

He brought out his wand.

"Give it back to me, now!" Krystyna demanded.

"Why should I?" Lucius asked her softly.

"Because it's mine, you idiot!" Krystyna shouted. "Now give it back!"

"Or what?"

"I'll give you detention or - or-" Krystyna tried thinking up something that was very nasty.

However, Lucius shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

Without warning, Krystyna lurched for him and grabbed his wrist. Taken by surprise by such a stupid act, Lucius had not reacted and had been still at the time. She turned his wrist, and in a painful response, he let go of it; it fell to the floor. Krystyna dropped to get it, but he caught a handful of her hair, mainly on accident when he went to reach for her arm but was blinded by the painful and angry tears in his own eyes. She squealed with pain and couldn't reach her wand.

At the moment he let go of her hand, gasping, she tugged on his robes hard, and he fell forward over top of her, causing Krystyna to fall on her back. He dropped his wand. Krystyna pulled herself out from underneath a fallen Lucius and reached for her wand, but was stopped short when Lucius flung himself right over top of Krystyna and grabbed both of her wrists with just one of his hands. She shouted and kicked but it was no use - Lucius had her pinned on her stomach right underneath his cold body. She growled angrily.

"Well, what a position you've gotten yourself into, Krystyna," Lucius hissed in her ear directly, his hot breath on her neck. She jerked to get away but couldn't.

"Get off of me, Malfoy," Krystyna growled. It was getting harder to breath. Lucius loved to see her struggle; he knew how much she hated to not have the upper hand.

"Mm, your hair smells good," Lucius whispered almost dreamily.

"Well, I'm glad you think that way, but get off of me!" Krystyna snarled spitefully.

"And you're really warm," Lucius murmured.

"Because you've given me quite a work-out with this harassment of yours," Krystyna said angrily.

"I wouldn't call it harassment," Lucius sighed. Krystyna jerked.

"If you don't get off of me right now, I'll scream as loud as I can," Krystyna mumbled.

"In this hallway, no one can hear you scream," Lucius murmured to her. His free hand began to move through her hair. It was so cold.

Suddenly, Krystyna screamed as loud as she could. Then, she felt hope. She heard someone's feet. Lucius must've heard it too because he immediately rolled off of her and went to gather his wand. Luckily, it was not a Slytherin - or Sirius Black - but a flustered Remus. When he saw Krystyna on the floor, he sprinted to her; he was already out of breath.

"Krystyna, what in the world happened?" Remus questioned worriedly. She looked a mess. He helped her to her feet. Her robes where messed up; her hair was in tangles; her cheeks were red; her eyes were teary; and she had a red mark around one of her wrists. Lucius muttered something under his breath. It was only then that Remus acknowledged him even being there. "What did you do to her, Malfoy?"

"Nothing bad, Lupin," Lucius sighed coolly, leaning against the wall, his hair only a little messy. He'd fixed it when Remus hadn't been looking. "She tripped and I went to help her up. Is being courteous a crime, Lupin?"

Remus glared at him suspiciously. "If you did anything, I'll go straight to Professor Dumbledore, Malfoy, and do my best to get you expelled. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't mind that very much."

"I didn't do anything, Lupin," Malfoy repeated

Remus didn't believe him; it was obvious by the look on his face. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he said to Krystyna. "Professor Vector was a little worried when you didn't show up. I mean, it's not like you and all."

Krystyna picked up her bag and walked away from Lucius happily with Remus. Remus looked at her with concern when she didn't say anything about what happened.

"What really happened back there?" Remus questioned her softly, looking worried.

"Malfoy was telling the truth - for once, I know, it's strange - I tripped and he went to help me up when you came," Krystyna muttered. "Although I wish he hadn't; I can get up fine by myself."

"But, you screamed?" Remus said, sounding confused.

"I fell and then screamed, Remus" Krystyna lied. She couldn't tell Remus she was afraid of Lucius. It was embarrassing. He'd think she was afraid, and Gryffindors weren't afraid - they were bold. And she had to be bold. They entered Arithmancy, Remus watching Krystyna dubiously.


Author notes: Thank you for reading!