A/N: Hello readers! Since Save a Penny is nearing its conclusion (or will be, if I ever find my inspiration again) I thought it was about time to start posting another story! This one is actually completely finished, so you'll never have to worry about waiting for chapters to be written; the frequency will depend on reviews[/blackmail It's just a short twelve-part thing that I wrote after realizing that the general conception of Sirius in the RP and fanfic world is that he's a raving manwhore; thus, I decided to count myself among the ranks of those who look at him as a legitimate character, even as a teenager.
JK Rowling owns everything but Madeline Croft, who is my brainchild. Enjoy!
-Emily
Sirius Black, fifteen and handsome as the devil, had never before said goodbye to his mother when he boarded the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 ¾ on the morning of September the first, as he'd done for four years previous; seeing no reason to break tradition, he without hesitation hurried away from his mother as soon as possible. She made no effort to stop him, as usual; the only reason she came was to see Regulus, who was only fourteen, onto the train. He was, after all, the favorite son; but Sirius had long since come to the realization that his family was little more than scum and he would have been insulted if they liked him.
He quickly spotted a flash of dark red hair and was pleased to see that it belonged to Lily Evans. He knew that where Lily was, James would not be far behind; and sure enough, his best friend soon popped out of the crowd to hinder the redhead's progress towards the train.
Grinning to himself, Sirius pushed his way towards them, listening with amusement as his friend's voice carried over the crowd.
"Evans! You didn't answer any of my letters!" crowed James Potter in mock—or real, Sirius was never sure when it came to James's interactions with Lily—annoyance, ruffling his hair as his hazel eyes stared hungrily at her through his glasses. Lily, for her part, was unimpressed.
"Answer them? I stopped reading them after the first week! Maybe if you'd written about something more interesting than your new broom and the hours of Quidditch you played, I would have been more inclined to humor you," she replied.
"What would you like to hear about?" James shot back quickly, unabashed. Lily opened her mouth, but Sirius (who had finally managed to reach them) had the quicker tongue.
"Come on, James, leave the girl alone! It's clear that she will never want anything to do with you—am I right, Lily darling?" he finished with a roguish wink at the redhead. Lily smirked at him and shook her head in an annoyingly mature way before pushing past James and onto the train.
"I'll see you later than, Evans! I'll come and visit your compartment!" the Gryffindor Chaser called after her. She gifted him with a dismissive flick of her hand. James turned to Sirius, grinning.
"It's obvious. She loves me," he said.
"Yeah, she loves you like I love Moaning Myrtle," Sirius replied. "Face it, mate; she's out of your league. There's nothing you can do to make her go out with you, short of threatening her at wand-point."
"Some witches are into that."
"Oh, bugger off!" Sirius said, laughing as he hefted his trunk and made for the train. James, however, hung back.
"Aren't we going to wait for Remus?" he asked. Sirius turned around.
"Nah. He was made prefect, remember? I'll bet you anything he bolts for the prefect compartment quick as he can. He'll be unbearable this year; if he doesn't take it serious to try and make up for the past four years with us, I'll eat my cauldron," the long-haired boy said with a debonair grin. He turned around again—and ran right into a short girl, who fell over her trunk (which popped open) and would have rolled under the train if Sirius hadn't reached out and grabbed the neck of her sweater.
When her motion ceased, she batted his hand away and glared fiercely up at him, her brown eyes narrowed in obvious dislike.
"Watch it, Black!" she snapped, reaching for the books and robes that had spilled out of her trunk, grimacing as people trod on them.
"Hey now, Madeline, don't be like that," Sirius replied, bending down to help her. "I just saved your neck, you know."
"Yeah, by strangling it," she replied, rubbing the red mark from where her collar had choked her. "I wouldn't have even fallen over if not for you."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he said, handing her a battered copy of Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five. She snatched it from his hands and pushed a lock of dirty blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Just watch where you're going next time! This place is dangerous enough without people being negligent with their own bodies," Madeline said irritably, slamming the lid of her trunk and latching it.
"You have my word, Miss Madeline; I will forever watch my step so as to make Platform 9 ¾ a safe place for petite women such as yourself," Sirius replied with a smirk as he stood and reached out a hand to help her up. Madeline made a scoffing noise and ignored his offer, jumping up and dusting herself off.
"I don't need your cheek, Black," she said before turning and lugging her trunk towards the train. Sirius, continuing to smirk, shook his head and turned back to James, who was chuckling.
"That Madeline Croft," he said. "I never met a more disagreeable girl."
"Quite right, Padfoot," James said with a laugh. "I've always wondered why she's in Gryffindor."
"Maybe she has some amazing talent we know nothing about."
"Like what, the ability to frighten off any poor man who tries to court her?"
Sirius's eyes widened and he jumped back, an expression of mock alarm and surprise on his face.
"You've seen someone try?" he asked, his tone incredulous. James laughed.
"She couldn't be bothered with it anyway, I'm sure. The girl has no use for anyone. I think her main goal in life is to end up an old maid," the bespectacled boy said. "Why, I doubt even you could make her fall in love with you, you sly dog."
"Is that a challenge?" Sirius shot back, a grin on his lips and a mischievous glint in his eye. James chuckled again.
"Aw, leave her alone, Sirius. There's no need to make her more disagreeable than she already is."
"I could tell you the same thing."
James shoved his friend's shoulder and grabbed the handle of his trunk.
"Shut up and get on the train," he said.