This one-shot is set back in time a bit, before Sirius and Gemma were smart enough to snog and realize that they are crazy for each other. I really liked doing this, so expect a few more one-shots back in the day!

"Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Divination…you chose three new classes then, did you?" Madam Pince asked as nicely as she could, her face screwed up as tightly as usual, "How is it you're not in Ravenclaw, Miss O'Malley? You always seemed the sort."

Gemma blinked her big blue eyes up at her and sighed, having heard the question so often over the past three years. "I simply asked the hat to put me in Gryffindor when it suggested Ravenclaw…my only friend was going there, so I didn't want to end up alone. Also," Gemma stood as tall as she could, barely as tall as the big desk, "there are several smart Gryffindor's that could beat out an Eagle any day of the week; you shouldn't look down on them so much."

"Is that so?" The librarian squinted at her, turning her head as if weighing the idea in her mind.

"Oh yes – Lily, my best mate…she's brilliant. Even those dunderheads that never come in here are fairly smart all on their own. You shouldn't judge them just because they act like their brains went missing when they were children."

As if on cue, the four boys the school had taken to calling the 'Marauders' ran past with not a book in sight and only wicked smirks on their faces. Gemma sighed at the same time as Madam Pince and once again wondered why Remus Lupin had gotten caught up in all that ridiculousness.

He seemed so normal.

"I don't know if that's true, Miss O'Malley, but perhaps I'll take it into consideration. It was nice seeing you."

Gemma nodded, stuffing books into her bag and shrinking others to stuff into the pockets of her cloak. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow!" With a short wave, Gemma began walking back out into the corridor and hoping whatever prank her fellow classmates had pulled in the library didn't ruin any of the books.

Third year had come so quickly, as if the first two years of adapting to this new life were shorter than weeks. Gemma still couldn't believe what she could do, what she could create, and yet she learned new things everyday that kept on surprising her. It was all still so fresh and exciting, but that's what made her brain so happy to keep checking out every book she could get her fingers on.

Making her way upstairs, she got a quick warning from a prefect that the First Year's curfew was in less than ten minutes. Trying not to roll her eyes, she quickly informed him that she was a Third Year and went on her way once again. It wasn't like it was her fault that she was still under five feet tall; it was her parent's fault, completely.

"Hey, Gems!" Turning to find her friends when she'd gotten through the portrait, Gemma smiled and headed over to the fireplace where they'd secured a spot. "Get enough books?"

She snorted. "Of course I did, Mare," she laughed, stacking them slowly on the table, "and you're more than welcome to borrow some."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Can't wait to get my hands on," her friend picked up a book, "Numerology and Gramatica…yeah. Sounds like a hoot."

The group all burst into a laugh, Gemma grabbing her book back from her friend as she settled on the end of the sofa. "Why are you even taking Arithmancy, Gemma?" Lily asked, flipping through her Care for Magical Creatures homework. "That's just so…I don't know where you'd use it, is all."

"Well, I dunno," she shrugged, biting her lip as she settled, "It looked really interesting and who knows! I might end up with a job that needs advanced arithmancy knowledge or something."

"Does that even exist?" Marlene teased, popping her gum loudly and causing several pairs of eyes in the room to look at them.

"I'm sure it does...somewhere in the world," she said, laughing a little to herself as she fixed her knee socks and then reached for a book to start reading.

It was relatively quiet in the common room that night; most students were either waist deep in homework already or had made their way to the dorms. Gemma wished it had stayed that way, but of course the Marauders came back up and were all talking too loud for anyone to concentrate. She would have told them off, she usually did, but Remus sat next to her a few minutes later and she tried to let her frustration dissipate.

"Let me guess," Gemma started, looking over at Remus' shiny golden hued eyes, "you found Snape, didn't you?"

Remus snickered, his other three mate's high fiving and reliving whatever they'd done with wide grins. "He might've been part of it, but he actually deserved it this time."

Shaking her head, she focused back on her reading again. "I can't see how, but perhaps I'll take your word for it."

"Come on Gemma, we're not all that bad, and hey…just look at Sirius for proof."

Looking across the room, she waited until Sirius was facing their direction and noticed a black eye that was currently still swelling. She sucked in a breath, cringing as the buffoon barked out another laugh and then turned back to Remus. "What did Snape do?"

"I'm not sure, really. He said the spell so quickly I barely heard him!" Remus always got excited when it came to fights, even if he stayed far away from them. "But it was like an invisible fist just punched Padfoot, and the second he hit the ground, James pelted him with a dungbomb and it went on from there."

"Savages, the lot of you, I swear to God."

Remus snorted, nudging her with his elbow. "Boys will be boys, right?"

"And that is why I do not associate with your kind," she teased, nudging him back and watching a warm flush rise in his cheeks, "Are we still on for that study session tomorrow night?"

"Oh, yeah, right, of course!" He seemed oddly nervous all of a sudden, but Gemma simply smiled and then felt a hand on her shoulder. "How's the eye doing, Sirius?"

"Feels like a million galleons, mate," Sirius grinned over at Remus before looking down at her, "Still haven't grown any than, Leprechaun?"

Gemma could feel her face, ears, and neck burn with a blush she knew was cherry red. Turning her eyes down back to her page, she tried to shake his hand off her shoulder. "Go away, Black."

"You're always so cross with me, does that mean you're in love? I wouldn't be surprised, honestly – I'm absolutely to die for."

Huffing as his mate's laughed and her's tried to hide giggles, she stood up to her full height and barely reached his chest. "In love? With you? Don't make me ill, Black, I don't want to ruin my new shoes."

"Aw, c'mon, O'Malley," he pulled her close, her nose cringing at the smell of cigarette smoke sticking to his jumper, "You can't hate me all that much. I'm just too bloody gorgeous, after all."

"Maybe…if you like that sort of thing."

James snorted so hard behind Sirius that Gemma wondered if it hurt. "What sort of thing is that?" Sirius asked.

"An arrogant prat who thinks the sun shines out his arse."

She could see Marlene and Mary high fiving, as if they'd taught her the insult. Gemma pulled away from Sirius again, stopping when his fingers caught the end of her braid and tugged. "Be nice, Leprechaun, say you love me."

"Sod off, you wanker."

Gemma started to move again but felt another tug on her braid and stopped with a glare shot over her shoulder at Sirius. "Are you not confessing your love in fear of breaking Moony's heart?"

"Padfoot…" Remus practically growled, Gemma blushing but shaking her head.

"I'm not confessing because you're a prat and always have been. You play pranks on people that don't always deserve it and you disrupt class constantly." She huffed, Sirius giving another tug before dropping her hair. "Why are you so keen on getting me to suddenly love you, when I hardly even like you?"

There was a pause, maybe a shift in his eyes, but for half a second Gemma felt like maybe she'd hurt his feelings. But if she had, he covered it up expertly as he smirked down at her and booped her on the nose. "Love breeds from hate, Leprechaun."

"For the last time, Black…Stop. Calling. Me. Leprechaun."

His smirk was blinding, his face close enough to kiss or smack, and they simply stared at one another. "Le-pre-chaun." He dragged out every syllable, her eyes flashing with anger as she let out a tiny screech of frustration and pushed him as hard as she could. Of course, Sirius being inches taller and pounds heavier, he only moved a few steps back and laughed as she glared and began to collect her books.

"I would have picked bloody Ravenclaw if I knew this was going to happen," she swore under her breath, Sirius being the arse he was and grabbing her braid for another tug before she slapped him in the stomach with her book, "Stop doing that! God, I can't stand you sometimes!"

"You really should tell me more about this God bloke sometime, Leprechaun – he sounds like a fun chap."

"Like I'd ever want to be around you more than I already have to."

Sirius barked a laugh, grabbing one of her books and holding it too high for her to reach. "One day you'll love me, O'Malley – and then you'll be so sad when I reject you."

"Ha!" She laughed, shaking her head as she grabbed her bag and didn't even dare embarrass herself by jumping for her book still currently held over her head. "As if you'd be the one rejecting me – don't make me laugh, Black. You are such a twit; I don't even understand why any girl would bother fancying you."

"Do we honestly have to keep going over this, Leprechaun? My face."

"Looks like an arse – now give me my book."

Glaring daggers as he finally handed it over, Gemma pushed past him with a swift kick to his shin before she stomped up to her dorm and slammed the door behind her. Just as Florence Dubois was about to open her big mouth, Gemma flicked her wand through the air and produced a bit of tape across her lips. Stalking off to the bathroom before her dorm mate got it off and began screaming, Gemma closed the door and jumped onto the sink to sit before all three of her mates came rushing in moments later.

"Will you two ever stop acting like that?" Mary asked with a laugh, jumping up beside her. "You're are worse than Lily and Potter."

Gemma just rolled her eyes, pulling her hair out of its braid and vowing to never wear it that way again after it became such an easy target. "No one is worse than Lily and James."

"Even so," Marlene said, pushing the door shut again as Florence began shouting at them, "You two are duffers."

Nodding a little, she turned towards the mirror and took a long sigh before looking back at them. "Do you think I could grow if you all pulled on my arms and legs and ran in different directions?"

The four of them all broke out into laughter, Gemma already feeling better as she forgot about Black and his idiocy and tried to focus on better things. Like reading, and her study sessions with Remus, and the essay for Potions; anything was better than Sirius Black.