A/N – Here we go! My first HP fanfic! This is entirely Sirius/OC, though it may involve bits of James/Lily. I intend to split the entire story into three main parts. Part I takes place during the Marauders time in Hogwarts, Part II during the First Wizarding War, and Part III during OoTP.

Enjoy! And please review!

Chapter 1

Rochelle Vittori frowned, twirling her quill absent-mindedly between her fingers. Her blue-grey eyes were fixed on the parchment in front of her. An unintended flick of the quill resulted in a drop of ink landing on her face, which she quickly wiped away. Letting out a sigh, she glanced up from the parchment and looked around her.

The Slytherin Common room was quiet. Unlike Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, which usually had noisy and bustling common rooms, Slytherins weren't loud and rambunctious. Jokes and humor were very rarely entertained in the house. Most of the conversations revolved around whose parents had more money, and whose blood was purer.

"Rochelle. I've been looking for you," a voice said calmly. Rochelle looked up, and saw a tall boy with shoulder-length white blonde hair. His piercing blue eyes resembled her own, and he sat down in the couch beside her without invitation. "What are you doing?"

"Potions," Rochelle replied. "Our essay is due tomorrow. I don't suppose you've done it?"

Lucius Malfoy gave her an incredulous look. "Forget Potions. I want to talk to you about something. I received a letter from Father this afternoon."

"Oh?" Rochelle put down her quill and turned to face Malfoy. Lucius's father wasn't the sort of person who wrote to his son out of concern for his well-being. There must be some other reason. "What did Uncle Abraxas say?"

Lucius frowned. "Not much. He was rather curt. It seems he and Mother have been considering a betrothal for me. I am turning seventeen soon."

Rochelle was not surprised. Most of the pureblood students of Lucius's age were already betrothed. With the increasing number of blood traitors in the recent times, finding a pureblood spouse was rather difficult. Most parents wished to be assured that their children would marry well. "I see. Have they found anyone specific, or are they still looking?"

"It seems that they're most likely deciding on Narcissa Black. The Blacks are one of the oldest pureblood families left, now. Of course, their reputation did go down a tad because of that blood traitor… what was his name again? Walburga Black's son?"

"Sirius Black," Rochelle replied. Of course. That scandal had yet to die down completely. Sirius Black had run away from home, leaving his family in a rather disreputable state. It had been all hushed up, of course, but rumors were that Walburga Black had blasted him off the family tree in a fit of anger. Rochelle's own parents had been rather disappointed. He'd been the right age for her, but that was no longer possible.

"Hm. Yes. Muggle-loving filth. Anyway, Mother and Father think that Narcissa is nothing like her disgusting cousin. But I can't be certain. It's best not to associate ourselves with scandalous families."

Rochelle bit her lip, thinking. She had seen Narcissa Black before, and there was nothing particularly scandalous about the girl. She was pretty, and seemed rather docile, if anything. "She's in the year below me," Rochelle told Lucius. "But I'm afraid I've never spoken to her."

"Well, could you ask around, then? I'll approach her myself, of course, but I'd like to see what sort of a reputation she has among the other Slytherins before I reply to Father."

Rochelle nodded reluctantly. Despite being from one of the oldest pureblood families, she'd never managed to make many friends among the Slytherin girls. Her family had a flawless reputation that surpassed most pureblood families, such as the Lestranges and the Crabbes. Many girls resented her for that. There were a few she got along with, but none she could call close friends.

"I'll try, Lucius," she assured her cousin. Glancing at a large clock on the wall, she slowly got to her feet. "Is that all? I have Prefect duties, which I need to be getting to."

Lucius shook his head, motioning for her to sit back down. "I'm not done yet. Father mentioned something else in the letter, concerning you."

She frowned. "Me?"

"Yes. Apparently he's been speaking to your mother about your prospects. They had their sights set on that Black boy for you, but after his disgusting behavior, he's no longer an option,"

Rochelle shifted uncomfortably in her seat, while Lucius continued,

"He has a brother, of course, but Regulus Black is far too young for you. They're in a rather tight spot about what to do. You'll be graduating next year, and it may create gossip if you're not betrothed by the time you're eighteen. They've asked me, therefore, to keep an eye out at school in case any boy from a respectable family shows an interest in you."

"Lucius, really, it's far too soon to be considering something like-"

"Listen to me. They've asked me to take responsibility, and I shall. Now be honest with me, Rochelle, have you courted any boys from our house? Or has anyone ever approached you?"

Rochelle flushed red. "No."

Lucius nodded. "Hm. Well, all right. Perhaps you should start making an effort. Do you know Frederick Nott? He's a rather quiet boy, but I think you'll like him. Shall I speak to him for you?"

Rochelle was horrified. "No! Lucius, really, please don't speak to anyone. I'll… I'll manage myself."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you certain, Rochelle? You don't speak very much to people. To be honest, you come off as rather shy."

"I'll be fine," Rochelle assured him firmly. "Could we discuss this afterwards? I'm late for my prefect duties."

"All right. Go on, then."

Relieved, Rochelle quickly gathered her books into her arms, and rushed out of the Slytherin Common Room.

After making a number of turns through various corridors, Rochelle finally reached the Hogwarts Trophy Room, where is was her turn to supervise detentions. Glancing at the time, and relieved that she wasn't very late after all, she adjusted her Prefect badge and walked in.

"Elle! There you are, I wondered what took you so long," Lily Evans greeted cheerfully. Rochelle smiled back at her. Her long, fiery red hair was flowing freely around her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled. Lily had a bold presence that was hard to miss. "The second years aren't here yet. I've a right mind to give them another detention for being late."

"I'm sure they got lost," Rochelle replied. "I almost forgot the way myself. Are all the cleaning materials set out?"

"Oh yes. There's not much for us to do- we just need to keep an eye on them and ensure they don't use magic," replied Lily. She shot Rochelle a searching look, and then frowned. "Are you all right, Elle?"

"Of course. Just a little flustered. Lucius wanted to speak to me, and I was held up," Rochelle said quickly. "I was afraid I would be late."

Lily nodded. "Well, I have something to make you feel better. I brought that novel that we were talking about the other day. Pride and Prejudice, do you remember? The one you wanted to read."

Rochelle's eyes widened in surprise, as she reached for the tattered novel that Lily held out. "Thank you! Are you certain that you don't mind me borrowing it?"

"Of course not! I've seen your books, you keep them in perfect condition. As a matter of fact, I was surprised that you would want to read it in the first place."

Rochelle nodded, taking the book silently. Although Lily hadn't been very blunt, Rochelle understood the hidden meaning behind her words. It was a Muggle book, and she was a pureblood. Despite being good friends, there was always an invisible barrier between the two girls. They were from different houses, and shouldn't get along. But they did, and Rochelle couldn't explain it. All she knew was that despite being a Muggle-born, Lily Evans was easier to get along with than any of the other pureblood girls.

"Here they are," Lily said, as two gloomy second years entered the Trophy room to serve their detentions. "Where have you lot been? I've a right mind to report you to your Head of House for being late to detention! Get to work immediately!"

X _ X_ X_X _X_ X_ X_X

Sirius Black frowned at the bubbling cauldron in front of him.

"I hate Potions. I can't believe you convinced me to take this class for NEWTS."

James Potter smiled at his best friend, while cheerfully chopping up a handful of ugly roots. He added them to their cauldron with a flourish, which hissed. "Don't be so down, Padfoot! Potions is a wonderful subject! You'll thank me later, when you become a successful Auror."

"Bullshit. The only reason you took this class is because Lily Evans is in it." Sirius nodded towards a red-head sitting a few rows away, concentrating intently on her own Potion. It was fortunate how their seats were positioned to have a perfect view of her. 'I'm telling you, mate, she hates you."

James shook his head. "She's warming up to me, Padfoot, trust me. Do you know, she called me 'James' instead of 'Potter' the other day? She'll be mine, soon enough."

"Hmph. Well, it's fine for you. I unfortunately, don't see any other pretty girls in this class. They're all in Divination. I should have taken that instead," mused Sirius. James raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't have survived a day in there. And of course there are pretty girls in this class! Take, um… Tanya Davis. She's fit."

"I dated her already. Last year, remember? Didn't turn out too well."

James frowned. There really was a lack of pretty girls in the class. Other than Lily and Tanya, the only girl that was worth looking at was Rochelle Vittori. But of course, she was a Slytherin, so she didn't count. But that didn't stop James from opening his mouth. Sirius, however, interrupted him.

"If you suggest Vittori, I'll smack you. She's a Slytherin."

James shrugged. "But she's decent-looking, worth a shot. She'd be quite pretty, actually, if it weren't for her eyes. They look too much like Malfoy's."

Sirius shook his head. "That's honestly not the problem. I was almost betrothed to her once, when we were younger. That was before they decided I was a blood traitor, though. My dearest mother thought she's be the perfect daughter-in-law. Pretty, silent, obedient."

James made a face. "Eugh. Glad you got out of that, eh?"

"You have no idea."

The bell rang for the end of class, and James hurried to quickly pour his unfinished potion into a vial. They hadn't had enough time to finish it, but a quick glance at Lily Evans's perfect potion told him that they'd clearly gone wrong, somewhere. While James went up to Slughorn's desk to submit the vial, Sirius leaned back casually in his seat and watched Rochelle Vittori.

They'd met when they were very young, before Hogwarts. Sirius didn't remember much, just a small girl with big blue-grey eyes and a dark braid that reached halfway down her back. She'd always been quiet, and the few days that she spent at his house with her family consisted of her following Lucius Malfoy around like a puppy. He admitted to himself that he'd never really disliked her; it was just that she was always with her pompous cousin.

As they grew up, both of them realized that there was no chance of ever being friends. Sirius had spoken to her once or twice in their first year, simply because she was a familiar face among many unknown people. But after that, neither had even glanced at the other. They were different people, leading different lives, connected only by the fact that their parents wanted to get them hitched someday. Sirius felt bile rising in his throat at the thought of being married to some obedient, submissive pureblood girl.

"Oi, Sirius! Come on, I don't want to miss lunch!" James yelled at him. Sirius nodded, quickly gathering his things and rushing out of the Potions classroom with his friend.

When the two boys reached the Great Hall, they found the other Marauders already stuffing their faces at the Gryffindor table. Well, Peter was stuffing his face. Remus was attempting to eat while reading a large textbook propped up in front of his plate.

"Oi, Moony! Stop being such a bookworm. Can't you study later?" James demanded. He tried to grab the book from him, but Remus swatted his hand away and took it back simply.

"No, I can't. I've got a Transfiguration test next class."

Sirius shrugged, as Remus quickly finished his lunch and announced that he was going to the library. James and Sirius sat down with Peter, filling their plates eagerly. They'd barely begun to eat, when a girl appeared beside their seats, hands on her hips.

"Potter. You've got a bit of explaining to do."

James's smile widened, and he whirled around to face Lily Evans. Her fiery red hair was tied back, and she had her eyes narrowed at him.

"Evans! What a pleasant surprise!" James greeted. "Have you changed your mind about that Hogsmeade trip, then? I knew you would!"

Lily glared at him. "No, I haven't changed my mind. I'm here because I was at a Prefect meeting this morning, and one of the prefects says you've been bullying Severus again."

Sirius and James exchanged an innocent look.

"Snivellus? No, haven't been near him lately. Who would tell you that?"

"Me."

The voice that responded belonged to Rochelle Vittori. Both Sirius and James jumped, suddenly noticing her. She'd been standing there the entire time, but she was overshadowed by Lily Evans' bold presence.

"Vittori," Sirius greeted, casually. "So you're the Slytherin prefect, are you? Congratulations."

"I've been a Prefect for over a year and a half, Black. I'd say your congratulations are a little overdue."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "All right. Then let's talk about these little accusations you're making. It appears you misunderstood the situation. You see, dear Snivellus and we were-"

"I misunderstood nothing, Black," Rochelle replied firmly. Her blue-grey eyes were staring straight at him, cold and piercing. "You and your friends were torturing Severus Snape. The only reason I didn't interfere myself at the time was because you already had a Prefect with you. Remus Lupin should have stopped your behavior himself."

Sirius looked a little startled at her coldness. James merely gave Lily a disbelieving look.

"Really, Evans? You've started believing Slytherins over us, now? That's a rather low blow."

"Elle is more trustworthy that you vile creatures," Lily snapped. "You are incorrigible, James Potter. You disgust me. And you can be certain I'll report this to Professor Dumbledore."

With that, Lily Evans whirled around and stomped away. Rochelle paused for a few moments, shooting Sirius a long, searching look. Then she walked away towards the Slytherin table.

"Do you suppose we'll get detention, then?" Peter asked gloomily, once she was gone. James shrugged, picking at his food with a scowl on his face.

"Since when have Vittori and Evans been friends?" James demanded. "Rather unexpected, that, isn't it?"

Sirius shrugged. "Don't know, Prongs. They're rather similar, I suppose. Uptight and crazy about rules, both of them. I'm not surprised that they get along."

James frowned. "I don't like it."