Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Harry Potter series and any of the characters. All credit goes to my hero, the wonderful J.K. Rowling! :D

Hpov

"One day." Sirius said dropping into the chair next to mine in potions and I resisted the urge to change seats. "You'll realize how devastatingly handsome I am, and you won't be able to control the intense attraction we both know you have for me."

"Is this really how you want to start our seventh year?" I asked him not bothering to look up from my textbook.

"Only if you'll go out with me."

"And keep you from the rest of the girls?" I asked in mock concern, this time actually looking up at him.

He smiled charismatically and I felt an eyebrow rise.

"I don't think I could force myself to be that selfish." I finished dramatically with an extremely obvious fake sigh.

Sirius was tall with broad shoulders, and good looks that were almost unreal. His dark hair was stylish and contrasted with his stormy gray eyes that were looking at me, amused. He was without a doubt the most popular boy in school. He also happened to be the most annoying. For the past few years Sirius had been asking me out, each time in a similarly egotistical fashion. He apparently didn't care about the fact I didn't want to go out with him, or couldn't stand to be around him for that matter. No, his arrogance was so absolute, he had convinced himself that no girl in this school could resist him and after that all this time, I was just playing hard to get.

"Well you could share me." He said simply.

"I'm not one of your girlfriends."

"You could be."

I made an irritated noise and he smirked.

"You know you want to." He said playfully.

It was easy to see why most girls in the school were in love with Sirius. He was very handsome, very funny, and very smart. He was an excellent quidditch player, and a troublemaker with the indefinable air of a bad boy who was always looking for something dangerous to get into. But then again, I wasn't most girls.

"I wouldn't want to bore you." I said sardonically.

He grinned. "I could never be bored of you Hal."

"Your history suggest otherwise." I said turning back to the pages in front of me. He was the kind of boy who had a new girlfriend every week depending on his mood. He usually dated them until the novelty wore off, then cheated on them whenever a new girl struck his fancy. He strung her along until he deemed it time to break up with her, break her heart, and move on to the next best thing. "I've noticed you don't seem to find other girls very interesting unless they're in your bed."

"Other girls aren't you." He said lazily flicking my textbook shut and I looked at him annoyed. "I find you very interesting, even if you've never been in my bed." He paused and allowed himself a wicked grin. "Of course if you're offering…"

"I'm not." I said flatly. "Will you leave me alone?"

"Will you go out with me?"

"No."

"Well then it looks like you're stuck with me." He said cheerfully tugging a strand of my hair and I pushed his hand away.

"Until a prettier girl comes along." I muttered darkly.

"Prettier than you?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "I don't think that's possible."

I shot him a look, uncertain what to feel. He really was an excellent liar. He was looking at me as if I really was the prettiest girl in the school to him and had I not known Sirius, I might just have believed he was being sincere. But I knew I wasn't. This was typical Sirius. Latch on to the nearest girl and make her feel special until he got what he wanted. I could probably throw a rock down the hallway and hit five girls he'd said that to.

"You are so full of-"

"Language Benson." I turned to see two boys had entered the dungeons. The first was tall and skinny with black hair and glasses, the second a little shorter with light brown hair and warm brown eyes. James Potter, and Remus Lupin, two of Sirius's three closest friends.

"Your timing couldn't have better." I said looking at James who was Sirius's best mate. "Make him go away."

He didn't seem to hear me however. He'd been distracted by the two girls that had walked in after them, one with long red hair and green eyes, the other shoulder length blonde hair and kind brown eyes. My best friends and dormitory mates, Lily Evans and Alice Page.

"Evans!" James said looking pleased but she ignored him.

"Are you still bothering her Sirius?" she asked him as she drew level to us in the front of the room.

"No one's bothering anyone." He said pleasantly. "Hallie wants me here."

"Actually I don't." I said frowning.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you do." He said waving his hand as if to disregard my comment. "Just look at me."

"Get out of our spot." Lily said impatiently.

"Fine." Sirius said standing up and grabbing his bag. "But this isn't finished. I'll see you round Hal."

He winked at me and went to sit with his friends in the back of the class.

"I swear he's just as bad as James." Lily muttered as they took seats on either side of me.

"Well they are best friends." Alice pointed as they unpacked their bags. "What did you expect? Besides, I think it's sweet. He's been asking you out since fourth year, and he still hasn't given up."

"There is nothing sweet about Sirius Black." I said with a glower. Already he'd made eye contact with a pretty blonde Hufflepuff and her friend on the other side of the room. He winked at them and they collapsed into a fit of giggles. "He's an egotistical git."

"Yes, but he has a nice body." Alice said grinning mischievously. "Even you can't deny that Hal."

"Aren't you practically engaged?" I asked her raising an eyebrow. She'd been dating her boyfriend Frank Longbottom for as long as I could remember. He'd graduated last year and was now training to be an auror which was Alice's ideal career path as well.

"That doesn't mean I can't appreciate that other men are attractive." She said shrugging. "It's not like I'd ever do anything with him."

"You'd be one of the few girls." Lily pointed out. "How many times has Valerie dated him?"

Valerie Smalls was the last girl in our dormitory. She was tall, blonde, extremely attractive, and extremely dumb. We didn't have much to do with her, most of her friends were either in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but when she and Sirius had been what she'd said was dating, we spent most of our time avoiding the dormitory.

"I don't think shagging between classes now and again counts as dating." Alice said shaking her head.

"All I know is that I saw waaaaay to much of Sirius when they were hooking up." I said shuddering.

"Something's you just can't unsee." Lily agreed.

We fell silent as the rest of the students who'd made it to N.E.W.T. level potions filed into the classroom. Just as the bell ran, signaling the beginning of the lesson, Professor Slughorn, the potions master, wobbled into the room.

"Good morning class." He said cheerfully while pulling his wand out of his robes. "I hope you're not too comfortable in your seats because you will all be moving."

There was a collective groan as he tapped the board with his wand and a seating chart appeared.

"Now, now," he said with good-natured smile. "Complaining won't change your seating arrangement. It's about time we split up some of the more…" he paused his eyes glittering looking slightly amused. "Inquisitive students."

He looked back at Sirius and James and Lily rolled her eyes.

I wasn't surprised he wanted to separate those two. While Remus wasn't bad, James and Sirius, despite being very clever, often got bored during class. They took it upon themselves to find various ways to 'liven up the lesson' which had resulted in many exploding cauldrons and several accidents. The last time they'd been left to their own devices in the dungeons, five students had been sent to the hospital wing with talking tubers sprouting from various parts of their bodies. For some reason, the 'accident' only seemed to have affected the Slytherins in our class.

I glanced up at the board and was horrified to see that the seats were ordered by last name. I happened to be in the right spot, in the center of the first row, but right next to my name 'Benson' was the name 'Black.'

"Now there's no point arguing about it. This arrangement is final." Slughorn said as some people started to protest. "Now move to your spaces please."

There was a general noise of talk and the scraping of chairs as grumbling students stood up and started walking towards their assigned desks in the room. I said a resigned goodbye to my friends as Alice went back to sit near James and Lily went to sit next to a Ravenclaw named Robert Emerson.

I tried to ignore the look of smug satisfaction Sirius wore as he once again dropped into the seat next to mine.

"Well what do you know Hal," He said grinning. "I guess you really are stuck with me."

"This is one class." I said.

"It's a double period." He pointed out. "Which is twice the class time I need."

"Need for what?"

He smiled, tossed his wand into the air, and when he caught it, he was holding a rose.

"To make a pretty girl smile." He said resting the flower on my textbook and I felt myself blush.

"What is that supposed to be me?" I asked trying to sound sarcastic but not sure I quite managed it. After a quick glance at him, I knew I hadn't.

"Of course."

"Very funny." I said looking away from him.

"Hallie, why can't accept that you're beautiful?" he asked and again I felt my cheeks burn. My eyes landed on the rose, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

'He doesn't mean it.' I thought trying to ignore the fact that I could feel his eyes on me. 'This is Sirius. He'll say anything to get with a girl.'

And yet, as I picked up the rose, I realized had to force myself to keep my face blank. I was actually having to try pretty hard not to smile. Had he known roses were my favorite?

"You know you want to." Sirius said breaking me from my thoughts.

"No actually, I don't." I lied.

"Yes you do. Or are you telling me you don't like roses?"

"You're an idiot."

"And you're a liar." He said smoothly. "But you don't hear me complaining."

I wanted to retort with something sarcastic and witty, but before I had time to come up with anything, Slughorn had come to stand in front of our table.

"Now I enjoy the promise of young love as much as the next fellow." He said and I jumped. Around me, I could hear several people snickering and I flushed again, embarrassed as I realized I was still holding the rose. "But I must ask that you try and contain your affections during my class Ms. Benson and Mr. Black."

I hadn't even noticed that he'd started class.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather you two pay attention while I lecture the class."

His tone was reprimanding, but the effect was ruined slightly when he winked at us before turning back to the blackboard. He continued his lecture about the chemical properties of unicorn blood and I felt my thoughts wander. Slughorn often made it known when he approved of a couple between his favorites. He had supported Alice and Frank, was constantly trying to set up James and Lily, and I had a feeling this was one of those times.

'But we're not a couple.' I thought angrily. Sirius had just forced me into this situation. I didn't want his flower and I certainly didn't want to go out with him.

I dropped the rose onto the table and started to take notes well aware that Sirius was still watching me. It was irritating. I had classes to get through and I didn't need someone like Sirius getting in my way.