Sugar & Spice

*Sirius's Point of View

One hour and three days later found the Marauders (including myself) sat in the common room playing strip poker at 4 o' clock in the morning.

It was a stupid idea because there weren't even any girls around, but we didn't really mind - probably due to the fact that we each had about half a bottle of firewhisky coursing through our systems.

We were all laughing hysterically at something I can't remember (in all probability something utterly foolish, like the fire spitting sparks onto the nearby rug), and I could barely breathe, tears running down my face.

When I'd finally gotten a grip, I turned to James, slinging my arm around his neck. I said something I never would've said out loud if I'd been sober, but which had been bothering me for a while.

"How is it -" I gave a small hiccough. "- that Tammie likes you, huh? What have you got that I don't, man? ... no offense." I slurred, using the nickname I'd given her a couple days before. He looked me in the eye with an intensity I might've found kind of intimidating if he weren't my best friend.

"I, my fine fickle friend, am a nice dude, that's why. I don't sexually harrass her every chance I get... and I don't have the biggest man-whore/womanizer rep in the school, either." He tacked on, frowning. I punched him half-heartedly on the arm and he grinned drunkenly.

All that was very fine and true. But I'd seen Tammie chatting animatedly with both James and Remus the morning previously - acting, for all the world, as if I didn't even exist.

To my immense surprise I found it really bothered me.

When I watched her with them she was a different person than with me. She laughed and smiled a lot, and didn't look guarded.

She was absolutely radiant, truth be told, and my stomach was constantly in knots around her.

I couldn't work out if this was a bad thing, or a good one - I'd never felt anything like that with a girl before. It was always eyes on the prize - sex ... and if they wouldn't give it to me, I never felt any reason to be around them any longer. Don't get me wrong - I very much enjoyed the company of women, but it was just the opposite sex that captivated me - never the individual being.

We gave up on the cards, too drunk to concentrate on the numbers, and lapsed into silence.

"I want to make a wager." I announced loudly and randomly. The other three sat up straight and stared at me with clearer eyes than they'd had just a second before. We took wagers very seriously.

"I bet I can get Tammie to at least kiss me before Christmas." Remus scoffed.

"If you say so, Padfoot. What are the terms?" I grinned at James evilly.

"Okay, if I win, Prongs has to ask Evans to marry him on our very last day of school next year -" He looked nothing less than horrified at this prospect, but stayed silent. "But... if I lose... I'll give you thirty galleons."

"Not enough," James pointed his thumb down. I gritted my teeth.

"Okay... I'm really confident I'm going to win this, so... 40." He shook his head.

"70." My eyeballs nearly popped out of my skull.

"God Prongs, you're twisting my balls here - 60 then!" He raised his eyebrows, grinning mischievously, before he grabbed my hand.

"It's a deal, bro."

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*Rosie's Point of View

Even though Black had told me he wanted to tutor me every day rather than thrice a week I didn't go to tutoring the next night… or for the next three nights. To my everlasting gratitude he didn't force me to come or ask me loads of questions.

I could hardly even admit this to myself, but Black had actually shaken me up. My first day at school had made me soft, and then after the interrogation from Black on such a charged matter... I hadn't been prepared for normal teenage behavior, but of course, I'd wisened up.

I spent my every waking moment in the library studying up on different spells and theories, but Madam Pince kicked me out the first time I'd tried to cast anything in there, so I'd taken to practising in our empty little classroom.

By the time I was due to walk down to the very same classroom for our next tutoring session, I was both mentally and magically prepared. I waltzed into our dirty classroom with a huge smile on my face but stopped in the doorway, thinking I must've stepped into the wrong room.

Our dirty classroom wasn't dirty anymore. The tables had been scrubbed, the chairs mended and the floor swept. For several heartbeats I stood framed in the doorway, completely taken aback. I finally located Black crouching in the corner; I could hear him fiddling with something just out of sight.

"Well well well - look what we have here." He straightened up and immediately caught sight of me before a dull pink flush crept up his cheeks. This surprised me even more; I hadn't known Black was actually capable of embarrassment in any form whatsoever.

"Um, I was just trying to fix this thing so you could practice..." He pulled up a battered, skinny white mannequin by the hair. I raised an eyebrow and looked at it pointedly.

"Wow Black, you really know how to treat a woman," I drawled, teasing him, and he hastily put it back down, fully blushing now. I smirked and plopped my bag on the table I had sat on last time, pulling myself up to sit with my legs crossed.

As I straightened the creases in my light grey pleated skirt I watched him. He was trying to fix the mannequin using his hands, rather than his wand. I smirked to myself.

I wonder why he's so flustered... I thought before pulling my 3rd year Charms book out of my bag and plopping it down on my lap, opening it to the page I'd last studied.

I'd managed to complete all the spells in the first year book and had gotten half of the way through my third-year charms book... all I had left was Potions, Transfiguration, DADA, and Herbology (I'd basically grown up like a muggle, going out and seeing for myself how things worked, so I assumed Muggle Studies wouldn't be too much of a problem).

At the thought of how much more work I had to do I suddenly stopped feeling quite as proud of myself as I had been. I sighed and leaned my chin on my open palm, which was propped up on my knee. I quickly became lost in my thoughts as I stared into space.

It took Black a few minutes to finally finish what he was doing and come over to me. He also sat on the table he had the last time, the one opposite me.

He surveyed me through heavily-lidded eyes.

"You look exhausted," He said, ducking his head to catch my eye and stating it as if it were a simple fact. I was a little bit taken aback - not two seconds before I thought I'd possibly seen another side to him... obviously not. I recovered myself.

"Cheers, Black," I spat, effectively hiding my hurt with venom. Inwardly, I agreed; I hadn't slept properly since I'd left home, and since our last lesson I'd stayed up most of both nights, sights set on nothing but catching up.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I'd flung the Charms book across the room at his chest. He reflexively caught it, but I thought I saw some unreadable emotion pass through his eyes.

It disappeared so quickly I wasn't even so sure I'd seen it at all. He closed the book (which had flown open in its journey) and turned it over. His eyebrows shot up.

"Hate to break it to you, Tammie, but I have to teach you from the bottom up." I smirked at him, and licked my lips. I noticed his eyes followed the progress of my tongue and rolled my eyes. I couldn't help the slight flush that coloured my cheeks, though.

Then it was his turn to lick his lips, grinning wolfishly. My face suddenly blazed and I had to look away.

"I studied everything else myself," He looked impressed for a second before he caught himself. He narrowed his eyes, but for once didn't pass comment.

By the end of the night we'd finished that book.

"Well, Tammie -"

"Stop calling me that."

"Well, Tamms -"

"Yeah, that too." He huffed in annoyance and threw up his hands. I only just barely managed to conceal a smirk.

"Well, Tamsworth -" He stopped and looked at me as if to say, 'Well? Are you going to continue being as difficult as you possibly can?' When I didn't contradict him, he carried on as if he hadn't interrupted himself. "- I think that seeing as we've managed to get you up to 5th year Charms we should work on Transfiguration next. McGonagall will flay me alive if I don't start working on that sharpish."

"'K." I said shortly, slinging my deep yellow bag across my chest. I'd made it to the door when Black called me back.

"Hey Tammie?" He called and I turned around, my hand on the doorknob, ready to turn it.

"I want to see you here at 8 sharp." He caught and held my gaze steadily as he said it and I felt my knees go a bit weak. This hot shock ran through my body as I held his gaze a second too long. I forced a grin onto my face, and raised my chin up a bit.

"Yeah Black. You will." As I turned back to face the door, my jaw dropped open as I tried to understand exactly what had just happened.

When I glanced back one more time at Black I could swear he was smirking to himself as he tidied away the books we'd been using.