As quiet, introverted Evelyn Berman agrees to spend her sixth year studying at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry, she is introduced to the school's adored Marauders.
From the moment she meets Sirius Black, there's something about the boy t...
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Gryffindors were parading the corridors, excitement buzzing through them in the aftermath of their afternoon Quidditch win. Gold and red seemed to flood every inch of the halls leading toward the house's common room, making the two, far-less-enthused girls adorned in yellow and black stick out like sore thumbs among the crowd.
"I don't even want to go to this stupid party anymore," Holly whined, dragging her feet stubbornly as Evelyn helped to push her through the corridor.
Evelyn shook her head amusedly at the pout planted on her best friend's face, "C'mon Holly, we don't want to look like sore losers."
"You know what? I am a sore loser!" The pixie-haired girl stated proudly, "And, I am unashamed to admit it. I may be in love with a Gryffindor, and I may be friends with several others, but I am Hufflepuff down to my core, AND IF ANYONE SAYS EVEN ONE BAD THING ABOUT OUR QUIDDITCH TEAM I WILL HEX THEM INTO OBLIVION—"
"Yeah, yeah little badger, let's take it down a few notches," Evelyn said with a chuckle, patting the fuming girl on the top of the head, earning an unamused glare as she did so. "I'm just as disappointed about losing as you are, but we promised we would be at the party no matter what happened."
"Well, when I agreed to that, I didn't actually take into consideration that we might lose," Holly grumbled as the Hufflepuffs reached the large portrait of the Fat Lady. "A month ago you would have taken any excuse not to have to spend an evening around Sirius, and now you actually want to go to a party that he's throwing?"
Evelyn, trying to seem nonchalant about Holly's inquiry, shrugged her shoulders casually before answering, "I told you, we patched things up at Hogsmeade last weekend. I mean, it's not like I'm best friends with the guy or anything, but..." She trailed off awkwardly, not quite sure how to describe the relationship she and Sirius now had. She was fairly sure that she was able to call him a friend now—although the rapid heartbeat and the fluttering she felt in the pit of her stomach when she saw him made things a bit more complicated. Of course, she would not be mentioning any of those feelings to Holly—or anyone, for that matter.
"Grindylow," Holly chimed, repeating the password that Remus had shared with the girls before the Quidditch match. The Fat Lady suspiciously eyed the pair's yellow and black attire, but eventually gave them a curt nod as the portrait swung open, exposing the already well-populated common room.
Clusters of cheery Gryffindors were mingling around the room, celebrating their victory and sipping on pumpkin juice and butterbeer—which, assumingly, were mixed with something quite a bit stronger than what they were used to at meals in the Great Hall.
"THERE ARE OUR TWO FAVORITE LOOOOSERS," a familiar, slurred voice boomed through the crowded room.
