Spell-maker : Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What's that?" Ayla asked, sounding amused.

Sirius shuffled the bundle in his arms slightly. Looking up at Ayla from where he was crouching.

"A hedgehog," he shrugged, turning back to the mission at hand, which was, currently, sawing an inch off one of Professor Sinclair's chair legs.

"Yes, I can see that," Ayla said, sitting in the chair next to Professor Sinclair's. "I was wondering why exactly you were carrying a hedgehog in our rehearsal. Or cutting up a chair for that matter."

Sirius sighed, as if the reason should have been obvious to anyone. "Martin, here," he said, gesturing to the hedgehog, who was sniffing Sirius' robes, "is a hedgehog I found in transfiguration. Minne - "

"Professor McGonagall," Ayla interrupted.

"said they were going to be used as practice for the first years. I realised I couldn't leave Martin to the horrific fate of being half hedgehog, half pincushion. So, I took him."

Ayla reached an arm out and Sirius narrowed his eyes but did slowly lower the hedgehog into her arms. Ayla picked Martin up and pulled him to her chest. Martin's tiny tongue came out and licked her collarbone, making her laugh.

Sirius, completely distracted from his task, could only stare, transfixed, at the creases of her smile and the curve of her lips.

"I think he must be able to see how gorgeous you are," Sirius tried, his charming smile, that he'd used to enchant half of the girls in their year on his face.

Whatever Sirius had been expecting, it wasn't the look of utter mortification that crossed Ayla's face. "Why would you say that?" She snapped, sounding rather angry.

Sirius spluttered, completely taken aback. "Because you are gorgeous? Smart as a niffler too."

Ayla's frown dropped and instead she just looked a little sad, but she nudged Sirius with her shoulder anyway. "Very funny, Black," she said.

"It wasn't a - " Sirius said, but Ayla had already stalked off towards the stage, still clutching the tiny hedgehog. " – joke," he finished, lamely.

Sirius looked after her for a few more moments and then turned back to the task at hand. As he finished cutting through the chair leg, he contemplated how that had gone so badly. The girls he'd managed to get with before had been easily convinced with only a few compliments and a charming smile. Ayla was different, he knew that, but once again he couldn't help wondering why he should even try. How would one win over someone like Ayla.

Professor Sinclair walked in, and Sirius straightened quickly, trotting towards the stage.

"Alright," she said, walking briskly to her usual seat, "the run through of Act 1 and 2 didn't quite go as planned, so now we're going to run through your scene together in Act 3 prior to doing it with the rest of the cast."

She sat, the chair tilting precariously and she only managed to scramble to her feet in the knack of time to avoid toppling over.

"Thank you, Sirius," she said with a raised eyebrow, but the corner of her lips twitched, betraying her amusement. Sirius bowed. She moved and sat in the seat next to it.

"Yes, so, it is after the night where Juliet and Romeo spend the night together. I know you haven't yet rehearsed with the bed, so we should use that," she gestured to the large, comfy looking bed that the set crew had decorated with light pink furnishings that matched Juliet's dress.

"So, let's get into positions. Um. Ayla, why are you holding a hedgehog?" Sinclair asked, suddenly.

Ayla looked down at Martin as if she'd forgotten she was even holding him. "He's a pet?"