A/N: this is being written in the midst of me doing laundry in a more manual laundry machine. I hope the choppiness isn't reflected here. Thank you to all of you that have added this story to your favorites, I hope someone actually reviews soon.

Also, the story has already started diverging from the initial draft, which is good news b/c I'm hoping writing something as structured as fan fiction can act as kind of a primer to get me to writing original content again.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, more than little suspicious. We were back in the dormitories at Gwyn's request. She had wanted a more "secluded" area.

"Look, Liz," Gwyn began pacing the room, "you're the one who is always talking about how Black needs to realize that he's just another student."

"Are you going to just complain about it?" Demi asked.

"Or are you actually going to do something about it?" Gwyn finished.

They had become extremely synchronized ever since they had spend the entirety of last summer together. Honestly, I had gotten sick of it already and the school year had just started.

"Just because she says he should open his eyes doesn't mean she wants to pry them open herself," Kate reasoned.

Gwyn had been attempting to pressure Kate and I into joining forces with her to bring Black and Potter down before. Once her target was even Lily Evans. I had to admit, social espionage did sound like a beautiful idea... but simultaneously, I didn't want to spend any more time with Black than I already had to. I had had enough of his company to last several hundred lifetimes, as we had nearly all of our classes together since first year.

"I don't want to look at him more than I have to," I spoke up.

"But this is for a good cause!" Gwyn finally came to a stop at the foot of my bed. Kate and I had been sitting down while Gwyn and Demi paced the floor in opposite directions like choreographed dancers.

"Think about it, Liz," she commenced her argument. "It's a way to make him realize that that he can't always get what he wants, that he's just like the rest of us. We've been dealing with his behavior for years. Haven't you had enough?"

"Can't you just imagine his face when we're through with him?" Demi giggled with excitement.

My defenses were weakening. It sounded like a great idea-a way to seek revenge on Black. Revenge for every single time he cut in line in front of me, god a good grade because our professors liked him, every time he had gotten something he didn't deserve just because he was popular. And if we managed to be sneaky enough, no one would be the wiser. No one would think I was just being spiteful about the duel he (wrongfully) won. I looked at Kate for a second opinion. She was always the most sane of the four of us.

"It would be fun," she said, meeting my eyes. "But I won't push you to do anything you don't want to."

"Thank you, Katherine." I hugged her. I pushed off of the bed and stood in the middle of the room. "Demetria Didd, Katherine Kirkwood, Gwyneth Garret," I said, nodding to each lady in turn. "My dearest Ravenclaw girls, it seems as if we have a plan."

"Operation Black Attack is under way!" Gwyn squealed.

We all broke down in a fit of nervous giggles. It looked like something beautiful and simultaneously terrifying was underway. We all stood around, staring at each other for a moment or two.

Demi's stomach growled, causing us to launch into another fit of laugher.

"It's dinner time," she laughed. "We can plot Black's demise down there."

"Demise?" Kate questioned. "Don't you think that's taking it a bit too far?"

"Well, how about his oversized ego's demise?"

"Well put," I said as we all emptied out of the dorms. Once we were at the Great Hall, we took care to find the most isolated spot on the Ravenclaw table. We usually sat in the same spot consistently toward the head of the table, which was traditionally for sixth years, but today we needed privacy. Gwyn ended up having to shoo several ifirst years out of a secluded spot.

"Alright, well what plan do we even have?" I guestioned, taking a sip of my tea. since we had all ignited our friendship (about half way through the first year), it had been our tradition to drink tea before every meal. It had actually helped us by keeping us all somewhat trim and always conscious enough for the loads of homework. The tea calmed your stomach, gave you an extra kick so that after a day or so of extremely hard work, you wouldn't take out academic stress by stuffing as much fudge and pudding into your mouth as humanly possible-not that it always stopped us from trying. I had recently taken the tradition further, drinking coffee and tea several times each day. My love of the stuff had become so notorious that I had received an excessive amount of never-emptying coffee and tea mugs for Christmas the prior year.

" Well... We need to start by being civil to Black" Gwyn said. She was always one for these elaborate plans, and loved being the leader of secret operations. I was sure that after Hogwarts, she would probably pursue a career in the Ministry's department of Mysteries.

"then we will build up to being friends with Lily Evans," Demi added. Apparently Gwyn and Demi had talked this entire thing over before letting me, the bait, in on it.

"Brilliant," Gwyn winked.

"Everyone knows Potter's in love with her," Kate added, causing Gwyn to give her a dark look. Gwyn had been carrying a bit of a torch for James Potter ever since he had asked her to borrow a quill one day. She now downright detested Lily Evans since she proved one of Gwyn's theories wrong in an open assignment in Muggle Studies. This, added to Potter's apparent affection for her drove her mad. She had always held Kate and my friendship with Lily against us.

"And of course," Gwyn shrugged, "you're already friends with Evans, so you just have to elaborate on said friendship."

"And then?" I asked after a moment or two of tense silence.

"We'll improvise and revise from there on," Gwyn said. "Things never go according to plan around here."

"Because of Filch," I muttered, causing the girls to roll their eyes. "I'm serious, you guys! That man is pure evil. One day you'll see."

Gwyn waived the subject aside suddenly, causing Demi to take control back of the conversation.

"The basic outline," she began, "is to gain Black's trust and maybe affection and then blow it on dating Severus."

"Something along those lines," Gwyn said. "Now hush, our victim is coming over here."

Demi took this as her queue to start a conversation completely unrelated to anything mentioned that day.

"Then I told mother that I don't care what she says," Demi went on, "I'm not following father's footsteps-I'm the first in the family to not be sorted into Hufflepuff!"

"Obviously," Gwyn replied, acting engrossed as if the topic had taken up the entire meal.

"You're the first very witty person in your family," I smiled, encouragingly. This caused Gwyn to snort, and Kate to give her a wicked look.

"It's not your fault you have got a future more than that silly little robe shop ahead of you!" Gwyn said, earning another dark look from Kate. The robe shop had been quite small when we all first met, giving Demi a sort of complex about her parents being working class people, unlike Gwyn, Kate and myself whose parents had had well established careers. Now, however, the shop was anything but "little," which unfortunately did not stop Gwyn's jabs much to my chagrin.

Honestly, I was currently just thanking the heavens for Kate keeping her mouth shut. If she had said anything at all, she would have blown our cover. The poor girl is completely incapable of lying.

"Eden," I heard Potter's voice from behind me. Gwyn and I made eye-contact, she nodded slightly to confirm that Black was with Potter.

"Yes?" I turned around, smiling sweetly and as widely as my face would allow me.

"I trust that if you run into Peter here," Potter continued, slapping the boy on his back, "hypothetically speaking of course, that you won't feel the need to deduct points?"

Black was beside Potter, smirking. I wanted to strangle him. How dare they assume that they were above the law? I felt Kate's hand squeeze my arm, bringing me back to reality. I took a deep, loud breath and put on my best impression of Abarella Abbott, the Gryffindor most commonly called the class ditz.

"Of course not," I said, making sure my voice was laced with enough sugary sweetness to turn a listener diabetic. "I wouldn't dream of it! The only reason I deducted points at all last night because I was just so afraid!" I was doing everything I could to appeal to Black's chauvinistic side. Years of dealing with strict wizards at Salem's Summer Institute for Young Witches and Wizards had left me a better liar than I wished to be. I made a note to self to invite Kate over for a visit this upcoming summer-she could definitely use the training.

"Besides," Gwyn chimed in, "it's not as if he's a Slytherin. He's a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake! we should be glad the likes of him are out patrolling the halls as well."

I could hear Kate choke on her laughter next to me. The sarcasm in it was extremely obvious to anyone who knew her intent.

"Yes, and Peter?" I continued, "I am just so awfully sorry that I ever deducted points from you!"

"Why, you should have seen her," Demi began, "Gwyn and I had to cheer her up she was so close to crying."

I bit the insides of my cheek to keep from laughing. Kate, however, had given in to temptation but managed to cover her laugh at the last second with a cough.

Black didn't seem to be buying this last little bit. It had apparently been too much. He cocked an eyebrow at me, daring me to meet his eyes.

"It's true, you know," I said tragically.

"Well your opinions seem to have changed since this morning," Black said, his face softening.

"People change their minds, Sirius," Gwyn said. She then turned to Demi and Kate and began talking about something completely unrelated to Black or Pettigrew. That had always been Gwyn's way of dismissing someone.

"Well then," Black turned to me, seeming rather confused.

"I'm glad we have an understanding, Eden" Potter chimed in.

"Me too," I smiled, batting my eyelashes. "Sorry again about the misunderstanding last night."

"Don't mention it," he said. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

We all collectively held our breath until they exited the Great Hall. However, as soon as they were gone, none of us could hold the laughter in any longer. My loud cackle overpowered the girls' more feminine laugh.

"that was too much fun," I laughed, snorting at the end. My sides were beginning to ache. "I have renewed faith. Messing with Black's head is just too good of a time to pass up."

"I'm glad you see things my way," Gwyn winked.

"That was the most evil I've been in ages," Kate said. "Hoodwinking ?Black should be just as fun as bringing his ego down to size."

"He looked so confused at the end," Demi said, "almost as confused as he looked while he was taking his OWLs last year."

"The intense look of concentration and bafflement was nearly too much to handle," I sighed, remembering the look on Black's face. His desk had been near to mine, and I had had to bite my cheeks RAW to keep from laughing at him. He had tangled his hand in his hair in his attempts to somehow dig up an answer from his dull mind.

"Whatever he did must have worked," Kate shrugged. "Apparently he did very well on his OWLs."

"Wait, so he's not an idiot?" I asked. They all looked at me, shaking their head no. "When did this happen?"

"He was never dim," Kate said, going back to eating.

"You just see him as that way because he's," Gwyn took a moment to think of the right word, "socially impaired."

"Are you ready for classes tomorrow?" Kate asked as we were rounding up our dastardly prefect duties.

"Oh no," I said, suddenly remembering the weekend was over. "With my luck, I'll have every single class with Black and Potter."

"Yes," Kate giggled. "I rather think Dumbledore enjoys torturing you."

The relentless teasing had become so annoying and evident that after finding out in fourth year that all of my classes were with the duo again, I had gone to see the headmaster. He had reassured me that the schedules were completely based on who wanted to take what, and since Ravenclaw and Gryffindor house had always gotten along well, nearly all of our classes had been scheduled together. I had returned to my dormitory more than a little defeated that night.

"I'm actually surprised Black's little friend didn't jump out at you again," Kate said as we climbed through the portrait hole. "I was sure he would want to test your new attitude."

I yawned, "I'm glad he didn't Seeing Black once a day is more than enough."

"We should get to bed-Double Potions first thing in the morning and all," Kate said as we changed into our pajamas. "Here's hoping Black isn't there."

I snorted, "Do you really think the universe loves me that much?"

"Not really."