You're an Idiot, Sirius Black

A/N: Ok, so this is my first fic with an actual plotline! Woo-hoo! I feel so accomplished!

EDIT 2/27/07: So, I have begun to go through this story and revise it. I know it's not finished yet, but why wait, right? I will probably revise and re-revise and re-re-revise (you get the picture) all my fanfictions for as long as I'm on this site simply because I will continue to grow as a writer. Thanks so much to everyone who has helped me thus far!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter's world belongs to Jo and if you read this chapter, you will realize that I am not, by any means, her.

Prologue I

June 12th, 1966

Six-year-old Sirius Black clambered through the bushes, cackling madly to himself at the horrible prank he had just pulled. After climbing through the last of the brush, he collapsed into a grassy circular clearing and remembered his incredible tactics. But, no matter how clever they had been, nothing could compare to the wondrous reactions of his family. Seeing his father's rage, his mother's fear, and his brother's admiration had all been too good to be true.

Sirius laughed harder, relishing the feel of his success, as he rolled around on the grass.

"What's so funny?" a voice suddenly asked.

Sirius stopped laughing and rolling and sat up quickly. A girl was swinging on a swing-set a little ways away from him. She had curly, golden hair up in a ponytail, bright blue eyes, and looked to be no older than him.

"I just put a live bee in my father's toothpaste," Sirius stated gravely.

A horrified expression crossed the girl's face. "I'm terribly allergic to bees."

"Oh."

The girl began to swing up and down as they both took in the other.

"You're a Muggle?" Sirius finally asked.

"I'm a what?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that my mum and dad don't like Muggles. They'd be really ticked off if I was friends with one."

"Oh."

"What's that you're doing?" Sirius asked, eyeing the swing.

"Swinging." The girl's eyes widened. "You've never been on the swings before?"

"No." Sirius crossed his arms, indignant. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, it's just . . . haven't you ever been to the park?"

Sirius sighed. "I told you, my parents don't like Muggles."

"What's a mugger?"

"Muggle."

"Yeah, that."

Sirius pursed his lips and appraised the girl through his stormy, gray eyes. Finally, he mentally shrugged. If anyone ever caught wind of what he was about to do, he could always blame it on young age.

"A Muggle's someone who's not a witch or wizard," he explained.

The girl cocked her head. "Does that mean you're a witch or wizard?"

Sirius smiled proudly. "You bet I am!"

"I've never had a friend who's a witch or wizard," the girl remarked.

"Well, now you do."

She smiled cheerfully, but her smile soon faded. "I thought you said your parents don't like Muggles."

"Which is exactly why we should be friends!" Sirius cried. "The less my parents like you, the better!"

The girl furrowed her brow, but Sirius did not give her time to respond. "Do you mind if I swing with you?" he asked.

"Oh no, not at all."

Sirius sat on the swing beside her, his brow furrowed in concentration. He studied her every movement as she swung back and forth. Finally, he decided to try it himself. At first, his face was a mask of determination, but, slowly, a giant smile grew as he soared to new heights.

"This is great!" he laughed jubilantly. "I can't believe my parents have been hiding it from me all this time!"

The girl smiled, but then a thought struck her. "Mr. Witch or Wizard?" she called.

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a name?"

"Yup!" In his ecstasy, he didn't care to elaborate.

"And what is it?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

The girl giggled. "That's an odd name."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius slowed himself so he was swinging in time with her. "What's yours then?"

"Amanda. Lots of folks just call me Mandy, though."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mandy."

"You too, Siri!"

Sirius made a face. "Siri? That's a girl's name!"

"So? Sirius Orion Black is a mouthful."

"But at least it's manly!"

Amanda giggled. "What do you know about being manly? You're just a boy!"

Sirius frowned, deeply troubled by this. "I won't always be."

They continued swinging in silence, for what felt like eternity. Finally, as the sun began to set, Sirius sighed.

"I should get going," he announced, hopping off his swing. "My parents'll be really mad. It was nice meeting you!"

"Will you come back?" Amanda called to his retreating form.

"Hopefully . . . If Mum and Dad don't kill me first!"

August 30th, 1966

"How come you don't go to school, Sirius?" Amanda asked, as she swung next to the newfound friend who had taken to visiting the clearing several times a week.

"My parents don't want me to socialize with Muggles," Sirius said. "But don't worry; when I'm eleven, I'll start going to a special school for witchcraft and wizardry."

"Ooooh, what do you learn at a school like that?"

"Loads of stuff. Transfiguration, potion making, charms, things like that."

"Wow," Mandy said dreamily. "In my school, you learn boring things like maths."

"My cousins say History of Magic is really boring. It's taught by a ghost."

"How could anything taught by a ghost be boring?" Amanda cried.

Sirius just shrugged.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Amanda and Sirius both went deathly still and quiet. Then, a head popped out of the shrubbery causing the pair to let out yelps.

"Reg!" Sirius cried at the small, black-haired boy who had surfaced. "Did you follow me?"

"I just wanted to know where you've been sneaking off to!" the boy named Reg defended. "Mum and Dad notice you've been sneaking off a lot lately, too. They'll be really mad, if they find you've been coming . . ." his eyes traveled to Amanda, "here."

Sirius fixed the boy with a menacing glare. "Well, they're not going to find out, are they? Are they?"

"N-n-no!" Reg squeaked.

"Good!" Sirius huffed. He looked to Amanda. "Mandy, this is my little brother, Regulus. Regulus, this is Mandy."

"Hi!" Amanda said brightly. "Would you like to join us on the swings?"

Regulus looked sorely tempted by her offer, but then he sighed and ran off.

"Did I say something wrong?" Amanda asked, bewildered.

"Nah," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Reg's just a goody-two-shoes. Whatever Mummy and Daddy say goes."

"How come your parents don't like Muggles, Siri?"

"Don't know. I never listen to them enough to find out."

December 15th, 1966

The day was quite peaceful. A light snow covered the ground, the sky was a beautiful clear blue, and the smell of freshly baked cookies was heavy in the air. Amanda and Sirius swung side by side, neither saying a thing, just enjoying the moment. Amanda took a deep breath of air, letting it lift her up and soar her into the sky. The wind rushed against her face, blowing her hair back. She climbed higher and higher . . . and higher . . . and higher . . .

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!!"

Amanda's eyes flipped open. Standing in front of her was a tall, imposing man with dark hair and eyes, clutching in one hand a stick, and in the other a frightened looking Regulus Black. She dug her feet into the snow, causing her to stop swinging, as Sirius did the same.

"SNEAKING OFF TO FRATERNIZE WITH A MUGGLE?!"

Sirius' eyes darted to Regulus.

"He made me tell, I swear!" Regulus cried.

"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY NAME!"

"Dad, be quiet," Sirius mumbled. "The neighbors will hear."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST ---"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Sirius' father seemed taken aback by his son's words. He blinked a few times and took some deep, cleansing breaths. Finally, he was able to regain a threatening demeanor without shouting.

"You are to come back home with me and you are to never journey here again," Mr. Black said. "Do you understand?"

Sirius said nothing.

"Do you understand ---?"

"Yes, Father," Sirius said, standing up. "I understand."

Mr. Black looked satisfied. He cast a repulsed glance to Amanda before turning on his heel, dragging Regulus with him. Sirius followed, not once looking back.

January 1st, 1967

Amanda idly traced patterns in the snow, as she sat on her swing. It had been three weeks since Sirius had left, but she still missed his visits terribly. He was such a great companion when she was bored . . .

"Happy New Year," a voice suddenly said.

Amanda's eyes widened. She slowly looked up and gasped when she saw the familiar black-hair, gray-eyed boy smiling at her.

"Sirius!" she cried, hopping off the swing and throwing her arms around him. "You came back! I thought your dad had banned you!"

Sirius laughed. "He did. But since when have I ever listened to my dad?"

Amanda giggled and pulled back. She looked at him before frowning. "Why'd you come back?"

"Because we're friends." He said it as if it was the most obvious statement in the world. "Right?"

Amanda smiled and hugged him again, happier than she had been in a long time. "Right."

May 17th, 1970

Years passed since the day they had first met. Even though Sirius did not visit as often as he once had, in order to avoid his parents' suspicion, the pair continued to grow infinitely closer.

You see, many people found Amanda odd, especially when she talked about the boy wizard, Sirius Black. People thought he was imaginary. They made fun of her for believing in magic and witches and wizards and called her names. Her parents were worried for her, also. They felt it was dangerous to still have imaginary friends at ten years old and to believe in those friends with such conviction, but she stuck to her story: a wizard of her own age, who lived in number 12 Grimauld Place, visited her each month. They told her there was no number 12 Grimauld Place. Sirius, however, thought she was a perfectly normal Muggle and that was why she loved talking to him so much. He wasn't waiting for her to sporadically burst into flames, or anything.

Sirius also found their friendship endearing. His family became more of an annoyance everyday with their constant rants of "Pureblood this, Mudblood that." Regulus ate up their every word, but Sirius simply did not understand what the big deal was. When he went to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, he could not tell the difference between a Muggle-born and a Pureblood. With his family, he had to keep up the facade that he had some idea what they were going on about. But with Amanda, the naïve Muggle girl, he could be himself completely.

"Sirius?" Amanda called as he pushed her on the swing.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really a wizard?"

Sirius groaned. "We've been through this before, Mandy."

"I know, I know! It's just that . . . everyone tells me magic doesn't exist and it's time I grew up."

"Well, don't listen to them. They're just a bunch of stupid bozos who don't like what they don't understand."

"Hmm." Amanda mulled his words over. "That's actually kind of deep, Sirius."

Sirius grinned. "You doubted my deepness?"

Mandy giggled. "Not for a second."

He continued to push her, trying to see how high he could get her to go.

"Not everyone thinks I'm a complete nut, you know," Amanda continued. "The other day, Johnny Nix actually said he thought I was pretty! And he's the cutest boy in our year! Do you think I'm pretty, Siri?"

"Don't call me that."

"Answer the question."

"Well, um, I don't know. I've never really thought about it. What do you think of me?"

"Oh, I think you're very handsome and when you get older you'll be quite the dashing, young lad. Perhaps not quite as dashing as Johnny Nix, but still --- Aaaaagh!!!!!!!"

Amanda was suddenly flying through the air. Oh, Merlin, Sirius thought. He had not meant to perform accidental magic --- that was, of course, why it was labeled "accidental." Stupid uncontrollable powers. Though, in the back of his mind, something was nagging at him that she deserved it. What right did she have to say this "Johnny Nix" character would be better looking than him? It was utter nonsense!

Well, I'll miss you, Mandy, he thought solemnly. You were a good friend.

Then, a miracle happened.

When she was about to go crashing to the ground, possibly breaking every bone in her body, she suddenly stopped. She just lay there for a moment; face down, levitating two feet above the hard grass and dirt, as if being supported by an invisible table. Then, she abruptly collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud, but not nearly as hard as it would have been had her momentum been carried out. She sat up, rubbing her head.

Sirius ran toward her, his eyes wide as saucers. That little display had looked an awful lot like . . . but surely it couldn't be . . .

"Why did you do that?" Amanda asked. "And how'd you push me so hard?"

"How did I push you so hard? How did you manage to stop yourself from dying?"

Amanda shrugged. "Luck?"

"It didn't look like luck. It looked like . . . like magic!"

Amanda continued to massage her head, before his words sunk in. "Magic? How could it have been? I'm not the wizard here, you are. And besides, even if I was a witch, I don't know how to do magic."

"Sometimes," Sirius explained, "when you're young and don't know how to control it, magic comes out when you're really angry, or happy, or scared. Were you just feeling any of those things?"

"Well, of course," Mandy scoffed. "I was about to die!"

Sirius helped her to her feet. "Here," he said. "Let's see if it was just a fluke or not."

"What do you . . ." Her eyes widened as he drew back his fist. "Siri . . . SIRIUS, DON'T ---" She closed her eyes and waited for his knuckles to make contact with her nose. They never did.

Amanda hesitantly peaked through her lashes and gasped when she saw Sirius' fist barely centimeters away from her face. Her eyes opened fully and she looked to him. Sweat was beaded on his forehead, and he seemed to almost be struggling against some kind of invisible barrier. She blinked and side stepped. He was suddenly able to follow through on the punch and collapsed in a heap from all his momentum.

Amanda stared at him before asking, "What if it had been 'just a fluke?' You would have broken my nose!"

Sirius looked up at her, dumbstruck. "Mandy . . ." he said slowly, "do you realize what this means?"

"Of course I realize what this means! But . . . do you want to remind me, just in case?"

He smiled up at her the biggest smile she had ever seen on him. "You're a witch, Amanda."

August 1st, 1971

Amanda ran down the path that led to the little clearing, a piece of parchment clutched in her hand. She clambered through the bushes, causing several leaves and branches to get caught in her unruly hair. When she finally reached the little, circular clearing, she saw the swing set was not the only thing present. Sirius stood at the opposite side, looking as if he had just climbed through the bushes with a letter, too.

They both took the other in, and then beamed and ran to the center where they embraced hugely.

"I got it!" Amanda cried. "I got the letter!"

"I said you would!" Sirius picked her up and spun her in a circle. "You doubted me?"

"It's not that. I just couldn't believe that I was a witch! I didn't think I was special enough."

Sirius frowned and set her down. "Don't ever say that again," he commanded.

Mandy giggled. "Alright. Mum and Dad thought it was a joke when Professor McGonagall first came. When they were finally convinced, they both sat me down and told me how sorry they were for not believing me. I told them it was ok."

"See? Who's nutty, now?"

Mandy giggled. "I can't believe I'm actually going to Hogwarts! I was so sad when I thought about you leaving me."

"Well, now you're coming with me," Sirius said, slinging his arm around her shoulders. He dropped his voice to a whisper. "To be honest? I was kind of sad to leave you, too."

Amanda took his hand from around her shoulder. "You were? Oh, how sweet!"

"Shut up," he mumbled, going slightly pink in the cheeks, but smiling all the same.

Amanda laughed and collapsed, spread-eagled, on the grass. She gazed up at the bright blue sky, and smiled at Sirius when he lay down next to her.

It was one of the happiest moments of her eleven year long life.

A/N: So, what do you think so far?

The next chapter will be part two of the prologue, which will consist of Amanda and Sirius at Hogwarts leading up to the middle of their third year, where some drama takes place. After that, the majority of the story will be set in their seventh year. Anyway, do you think it's good enough to continue? Please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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