101 Ways to ditch the Date | SIRIUS BLACK

No. 11

Sirius had never given Ora that much credit for writing the contract, believing it would just be easy. Only now was he realising how impressive to effortlessly whip up twenty pages in a night, he could barely manage more than four before he scrunched up the pair and threw it away. Half the time they didn't make sense and the other half of the time, he was pretty sure that her contract would override one of the points.

"Padfoot?" He glanced back to see Pete sleepily sitting up, "It's about four in the morning..."

"Go to sleep, Wormy," He replied softly.

"That's the thing, I can't. You know how sensitive I am to light, I can't sleep," Although Sirius played himself off as emotionless and cold, his friends were his weakness and the thought that he'd accidentally kept Peter up for hours made him feel unbelievably guilty.

"Oh God, sorry Wormy," He hastily packed up his contract and stuffed it under the bed, "I just wanted to get it done by morning but it's not going well."

"Maybe and this is a crazy idea," Peter said with a yawn, "Maybe it's not working because you're tired... just a thought."

"You're probably right," He said before raising his voice slightly, "It's just that I want to write an actually decent one because the other one was so, SO awful but at least it came naturally. This one just feels forced but I want to do it. I'm good at sneaky underhand actions, not contracts. This is her domain."

"Then don't do it."

"I have to do it," Sirius insisted.

"Says who?"

"She says."

"Since when have you listened to anyone?" Peter asked with a small laugh, "Padfoot, got to sleep otherwise you'll feel like this all day."

Sirius sighed, glancing at the papers sticking out from underneath the bed before sighing and turning his wand off, "You're probably right, Wormy. Thanks."

"It's just what I do," Peter murmured from across the room, a small smile on his face.

Surprisingly, Sirius actually did manage to fall asleep which was good as he had an entire day of lessons. However, in all the lessons, he felt slightly unable to concentrate, feeling slightly ashamed that he hadn't managed to do the contract. He wasn't sure why he cared, perhaps it was because he liked the challenge but he felt a desire to actually do it. The moment his final lesson finished, he rushed away.

"Padfoot, where the hell are you going?" James called after him.

"... somewhere," He replied, not wanting to admit that 'somewhere' was the library. He'd tell James later but he wasn't going to announce this to the whole class. He needed a quiet place to focus and now that his ban was lifted, he felt that he should probably make the most of this place.

Carefully, picking a table at the back, he sat down and lay the papers out, trying to make sense of them. What had seemed vaguely decent the night before, now liked like a chaotic, childish mess. If only they were duelling instead, Sirius would have the advantage. Powerful hexes and jinxes came easier to him than words.

"Boo," He jumped slightly as he looked up to see Ora standing over him.

"How did you find me?" He asked, his voice soft, "I specifically chose a seat at the back so people wouldn't find me."

"I am psychic," She shrugged, before her face broke into a grin, "Kidding, I saw you running inside and figured I'd stop by," She glanced over at the papers, "Ooh, what's this... is it... is the contract? You're actually doing it?"

"Yes," He snapped, "Why is this such a surprise to everyone? I never back down from a challenge."

"I honestly thought you were just going to shove the old one on my door and try and manipulate me into signing."