Mischief Managed (HP One Shots)

Clumsy | Sirius Black

Okay, first of all, thanks so much for the responses! I'm thrilled that there are people who enjoyed my first one-shot, and I hope I don't disappoint in the future!

Secondly, this is my first request that only had an element of a character; in this case, a shy Sirius Black. It truly was a challenge, but a wonderful one, so thanks very much to the reader who requested it, LapisLazuli26. I hope I didn't disappoint, lovely!

Title was inspired by the Fergie song of the same name, which seemed to play in my head the moment I was asked to write a shy, flustered Sirius!

Also, sorry it's short!

Clumsy | Sirius Black

~*~

"I hate my life. The sisters of Fate have collectively come together to make a mockery of my very existence. I have decided, from this day forth, that I..."

"Oh, Merlin, would you give it a rest already, you drama queen?!"

I lifted my head from where I had pillowed it in my arms, straightening from the slouch I had dropped into the moment Sluggy had announced our Potions partners for the upcoming project. Sending my best friend a glare, I didn't exactly feel vindicated when all it prompted was a laugh from her, instead of the terror I was aiming for.

Huffing loudly, I dropped my head moodily back to its former position. "Easy for you to say," I grumbled, my words muffled by my arms. "You got Evans, and Helga knows that girl is as brilliant in Potions as Snape."

"Sure," Bethany conceded with a nod, "but you got Sirius Black! I guarantee every girl in this classroom - barring me and probably Evans herself, all things considered - is positively green with envy."

I smirked slightly, despite my current despair. "And I'm presuming you two aren't green because you've got your own arrogant, haughty prats to deal with?"

"Okay, first, Amos isn't a prat," my friend admonished me, a token defense of Diggory even knowing that I wasn't fond of the conceited jerk. I started to reply, but she spoke over me easily, carrying on as though I hadn't tried to interrupt her. "And second... well, yes. Every other girl, and some of the guys, would give you their last chocolate frog to switch places with you."

"I'd take that chocolate frog," I retorted firmly, scraping my hair back into a ponytail in my aggravation. "Honestly, I can't stand Black. What are the odds that I'd get chosen to pair with him in a class this bloody big?"

Sirius Orion Black had been the bane of my very existence ever since first year. For some reason, one I could never figure out, he'd hated me from the moment he'd set eyes on me. He would talk to anyone and everyone, Slytherins not included, but would just stare at me for a few seconds and then walk away if I ever tried to engage him. Once, when we were eleven, I'd even cornered him to ask why he hated me so much, and the only answer I got was the back of his head as he practically apparated to get away from me.

After that incident, I'd learned to just let it go. It had caused me some heartache, sure - being avoided by a boy I'd had a huge crush on, did not bode well for my self-esteem - but after a while, I had managed to limit our interactions to the very rare, occasional nod of acknowledgement. I'd never attempted to speak to him again, and he still avoided me like the plague, but it seemed that after six years of hard work, our efforts were going to be nullified by a stupid, bloody Potions project!

I was never a huge fan of Slughorn's, but my scorn ratcheted up a fair few notches with this incident.

Beth, as usual, didn't understand my vexation. "It's not like he's ever really done anything to you," she pointed out reasonably, in that tone that I sometimes hated, because she usually used it to make a solid point in an argument. "I mean, you two haven't even spoken to each other since you've been at Hogwarts, have you?"