September 21, 1976
1:01 am
Gryffindor Common Room

Even though he had a comfortable, soft quilt, a perfectly dark room, and a firm pillow to sleep on, Sirius seemed incapable of fading into unconsciousness. He had been tossing and turning for what felt like hours, but every time he checked his watch, only a minute or less had passed.

The noisy rustling of his sheets and dramatic sighs were completely lost on his roommates, either because they were asleep or didn't want to deal with him at the moment. He was indecisive for the next few minutes if he should finally get up and try and get some energy before he swung his legs out of bed.

His socks and the rate at which he had stood up made his head go hazy for a second like he had taken a shot of firewhiskey before he shut the heavy steel hinged door behind him and started to climb down the carpeted stairs to the common room, humming a bit to himself.

There was already music playing.

Anneliese was sitting cross legged and slouched on the cushy orange couch with a flask next to her on the mahogany coffee table and tiny pajama shorts that had a splotch of ink on them. A needle was in her hand along with a bottle of ink in the other, and her blue eyes were squinted carefully in the firelight as her golden hair hung beside her freckled face in concentration.

The orange, flickering flames illuminated the small muggle radio next to her that was pumping out music quietly so that if he walked across the common room, he wouldn't be able to hear it. It was a song he had never heard before, but it had a good rhythm to it.

His eyes were focused on her legs for a moment before he snapped himself out of it at the sound of her voice.

"What brings you down here at this hour of the night?" she drawled, looking up from her wrist where the lion was almost completely done.

"Couldn't sleep," Sirius replied honestly, sitting down on the chair across from the couch. "You?"

"Nightmare,"Anneliese told him, not at all lying.

Sirius recognized the truth in her voice and a bit of a faraway look in her eyes with concern.

"What was it about?" he asked, adjusting in the chair so that his legs were hanging off one of the armrests.

"You."

His grey eyes widened for a second, actually believing her, before he saw the teasing expression on her face.

"Very funny," he groaned, eyeing the flask. "What's in the flask?"

"Why do you care what's in the flask of the most difficult, annoying person you've ever met?" Anneliese asked, the teasing tone completely gone as she reminded him of his words a bit back. "The one you hate?"

Sirius's smile faded off his face as he swallowed heavily.

"I shouldn't have said that," he told her as she set down the needle on the desk. "It was rude."

"It wasn't just rude, it was ugly," Anneliese corrected. "And I would rather not talk to you right now, I can't hear myself think without American Pie."

"Ah, so that's the name of the song," Sirius said, mentally noting it. "Have you ever listened to Queen or ABBA?"

"Don't assume that I'm uncultured," Anneliese replied quickly, taking a swig from the flask secretly full of water. "Get outta here and let me finish my tattoo since I can't do it in class anymore, Grey Eyes."

Frowning a bit, Sirius didn't go.

"I don't want us to hate each other," he said persistently. "We got off to a rough start."

"Rough start, perfect middle, disappointing end," Anneliese said, her voice suddenly becoming cold. "I've been down this road before, and the only thing it does is cut your feet."

"What is wrong with you?" Sirius asked in a raised voice, his smile now completely gone. "I'm trying to be nice here. I don't just talk to anyone about music."

"No, let me tell you exactly what's going on here," Anneliese said, fiddling with the needle. "And you listen to me."

Sirius crossed his arms, but allowed her silence to speak.

"What's happening here is that you aren't used to a girl not liking you, so you try and get along with me to save your precious ego. But then, every time that I don't show interest, you get upset like a child and go talk shit about me to your friends because you can't get your anger out any other decent way. Am I wrong?"

Sirius looked at her with surprise at both the boldness and accuracy of her confrontation.

"Goodnight, then," he muttered, making a move to walk back upstairs.

"That's all you have to say?" Anneliese asked furiously, walking behind him. "Nothin?"

"Yea, that's right," Sirius snapped back, suddenly turning. "I'm trying really hard to dislike you here."

"Why?" Anneliese replied quickly. "Why are we trying to hate each other? Remind me, the point seems to have been lost on the both of us."

Sirius didn't think before he spoke.

"Because I'm the cool person here, and your annoying little southern ass is getting in the way of my reputation."

Anneliese blinked a few times, hurt flickering to anger.

"And so by tryin to flirt with me, you're what, tryin to tame me and protect your precious ego and coolness?" she spat, her arms crossed defensively over her chest. "I refuse to be another one of those people to you."

"Another one of what people?" Sirius asked, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer to her.

"Oh please, don't play that innocent game with me!" Anneliese cried, her accent becoming more pronounced with anger. "It's no secret that you've slept with half the school!"

"That's just so beside the point!" Sirius shouted back.

"So you aren't denyin it?" she exclaimed. "I am not going to be some girl that you flirt with constantly and then get angry with just because you can't get into her pants!"

Anger was rising in Sirius so hotly that he started to feel like he had a fever.

"Is that honestly what you think of me? That I just want to sleep with you?" he shouted directly in her face. "That I just see girls as objects?"

"You haven't proven me wrong!"

The two of them glared at each other, their faces inches apart. He could smell a bit of what he thought was strawberry from her shampoo, and something about her once again distracted him from their argument.

"You disgust me, Grey Eyes," Anneliese said, the most southern he had ever heard her.

"You know my name is Sirius!"

"I'd throw up if I used it!"

He watched her storm up the stairs with the flask, needle, and ink in hand silently before letting out a loud, frustrated groan that made him want to kick himself.

"That is just not the way to go about things, mate."

Sirius whipped around to see James sitting in one of the chairs right next to his, invisibility cloak in one of his hands. Remus was squeezed in next to him, obviously having been dragged out of bed and unwillingly there.

"How long have you guys been sitting there?" Black asked with a sigh. "What did you hear?"

"I followed you out of the room and dragged Moony along," James replied bluntly. "And let me tell you, if you want her to like you, I wouldn't mention her annoying little southern ass."

"I can't explain it," Sirius said, running a hand down his face as he sat down heavily on the couch where she had just been. "I want to hate her, I really do."

"Is that why you say it so often?" James asked sarcastically, and Sirius glared at him.

"But everything just feels, I dunno, more extreme around her," he continued. "Like I want to be around her. A lot. But then once I do, I just get mad at myself and her and end up being in a shitty mood. She makes me feel so angry."

Remus thought for a few moments before replying.

"So what you're saying is that you want to be around her but then hate it when you're around her?"

"It doesn't make any sense when you put it like that," Sirius grumbled in annoyance.

"No, it does," James contradicted. "It makes sense that things don't make sense."

They all sat in silence for a few moments before Sirius stood up.

"It's too damn early in the morning for this," he declared finally. "None of this even happened when I wake up tomorrow."

"You can't just avoid your problems."

"Watch me."

──────────

September 28, 1976
10:09 am
Great Hall

It didn't take Lily, Alice, and Marlene long to notice that the aggressive yet mildly flirtatious interactions between Anneliese and Sirius had come to an abrupt halt ever since a few days ago. Sirius wasn't looking over at the southern girl like he usually did, and she in turn wasn't complaining about him.

"What happened between you and Sirius?" Alice asked gingerly. "You don't seem to be.. bickering, I guess."

"He's probably still just mad you have more tattoos than him," Lily interjected.

"They're avoiding their problems," Marlene answered for Anneliese to Alice with a wise nod. "I saw it coming from a mile away."

"I'm not avoiding him," Anneliese corrected. "I just don't have the energy to waste on him."

She wasn't about to tell them about the argument a few nights ago, because she didn't particularly enjoy bringing up bad memories.

Sirius was already there when Anneliese shut her eyes, she didn't need him to be there when she opened them, too.

"Okay then," Lily said with a crafty shrug. "I guess you won't mind then that he's dating Lindsey Clearwater."

"That's not true," Anneliese said back immediately. "Don't be tryin to make me confess feelings that aren't there by trying to make me jealous."

"It was worth a shot," Lily shrugged with apparent defeat.

But the redhead had seen the way her friend's expression had turned, if only for a moment.

"Hey, uhm, A," Alice said nervously. "That howler is getting rather close, don't you think?"

Anneliese's dark blue eyes darted up from her strawberries she had been picking at absentmindedly to the snowy owl she recognized as Leo's dropping off a scarlet envelope directly in front of her. A shot of surprise went through her, she hadn't done anything to upset him that she could think of.

"Who'd you upset?" James called from down the table, unintentionally drawing all of the Gryffindor's attention to her. "Besides Sirius, that is."

Sirius forcefully yanked him down by the collar, but was also looking on curiously as the envelope floated up.

The voice that spoke was one that none of them recognized. It was obviously from an American boy, yet his accent wasn't even vaguely southern like Anneliese's. Instead, there was a tinge of Boston in his deep voice that made several female students look over.

The howler had also picked up the background sounds of Ilvermorny, with student's shouts and teacher's scolding sounding in the background.

"I'm not sending you this because I'm mad, well nevermind I am VERY mad, just not at you," Leo's voice started, making almost the entire hall turn Anneliese's way. "And usually we could go smoke, but that obviously isn't an option right now."

Sirius had no idea who this was, but he already wasn't liking him at the mention of him and Anneliese smoking together.

"Anyway, Sayre, I'm calling her Sayre not because I refuse to believe a bitch like that is related to me, said and I quote 'Callaway deserved what she got, this place's reputation is sparkling without her!'"

At this statement, Sirius wondered what the American had gotten that she deserved.

"So, I have decided that- shut up Goldstein! Sorry, I have decided that from now on, I'm going to pull as many pranks as possible until I get expelled, because they just aren't the same without you. And if that doesn't work, then I'll at least try to convince Sayre to let me visit you."

Anneliese beamed.

"Much love from Ilvermorny, Leo."

The least aggressive howler that Hogwarts had ever seen burst into flames that littered the mahogany table in front of Anneliese like smoldered confetti, not that she minded.

Because chances were high that she was going to see Leo again.

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