One Step Ahead part I | Sirius Black

Chapter 7

"No."

Sirius stares at her in disbelief, irritated almost instantly at her flat tone.

"What do you mean no?!"

James studies her curiously as she shrugs. He intervenes, asking, "Can we persuade you?"

She hesitates, her brow quirking with interest before she can help herself. Sirius glares at James, expecting her to request that they stop pranking her.

"Okay," She says finally, making James smile excitedly. She surprises them both when she says cheekily, "In return, you have to stand up and do a funny dance every time someone says your last names for a whole day."

Sirius looks at her like she's grown another head, utterly confused by the request. James scoffs and shrugs, "That's nothing. You've got yourself a deal, Whitlock."

She grins and holds out a hand, Sirius taking it and pulling her to her feet. She brushes off her robes and asks,

"Okay. What is it we're doing?"

"Stealing Mrs. Norris."

Sirius feels the tiniest bit triumphant as her blue eyes widen in shock. An absolutely catastrophic horrible mess of an idea. No way.

"I've changed my mind."

James groans, saying loudly, "You can't! A deal is a deal, Ninnie."

The Veela hesitates. She could go back to Jonathan, or find Dorcas again. But Sirius looks so irritated that she feels a twinge of guilt. She really did piss him off quite often. But then something clicks in her mind. He was far too irritated for this to be that simple. She knows exactly what is happening here.

"Fine, let's go," She sighs, turning and marching down the hall. The look of irritation disappearing as James and Sirius share an eager look. They follow after the blonde, James piping up and wondering,

"What did Wood want?"

"To talk to me about quidditch," She replies simply, her eyes tracing the light refracted by the windows. The beauty of Hogwarts—even in the seemingly simplest parts—was unmatched in her mind. She smiles contentedly, glancing back over her shoulder when Sirius grunts,

"More like he wanted a snog."

She laughs, turning to face forward again while she speaks,

"And what is wrong with that?"

James laughs at her bold answer while Sirius grows silent again, the boy with glasses saying boisterously, "My, My. I think we've underestimated you, Ninnie."

She winks at James while Sirius grimaces, unsure if he could even picture Gwen and her nonchalance in a heated moment like a snog in a broom closet. He practically short circuits, thinking about Jonathan Wood and...she seemed to innocent. Too uninterested for it to be true. But he nearly asks, curious to know if Dorcas Meadows is right. If he really knows nothing about the girl he's been messing with for 6 years.

He's too busy thinking to notice that she's stopped and he slams right into her, knocking her to the floor once more. She brushes aside the hair that's landed in her face and looks up at him, asking blandly, "Are you blind? Or just stupid."

Sirius smirks slightly and grabs her hands, marveling briefly at how small they were before he yanks her to her feet. She sighs and reaches for the gold handle of the door in front of her.

"Wait!" James cries. Sirius elbows his friend hard in the side before Gwen peers at them curiously. He'd nearly spilled it, scared that this would be the time the Veela would blow up at them. James bites his tongue, saying quickly,

"Never mind. Good luck!"

Gwen smiles to herself and slips past the door with the crooked sign that reads '234-00'

The room is dim, only a single lamp hanging from the crumbling ceiling. Gwen wrinkles her nose at the smell, rolling her eyes at the hushed snores coming from the stained chair in the sofa. It was a mess. The room and Filch. Her eyes briefly widen at the sight of shiny chains on the desk but what really catches her attention is a rather large cat sitting right in front of her. Gwen winces at the intensity of its yellow eyes.

"Hi, Mrs. Norris," she whispers. "I have a favor to ask of you. You'll still get nasty children in trouble."

She crouches down, tentatively reaching out towards the dusty colored feline. The cat sniffs her outstretched hand and then begins purring, Gwen's jaw dropping open in shock at the action. She couldn't believe it. She, Gwenyth Whitlock, was petting Mrs. Norris. She can hear James and Sirius mumbling quietly outside, stifled laughter reaching her ears. They were in for quite a surprise.

The two Marauders leap back from where their ears are pressed to the wood, their eyes widening in disbelief at what they see. Gwen stands calmly with Mrs. Norris laying lazily in her arms, the veela's fingers scratching behind the cats ear as it purrs.

"What the fuck?" James breathes. Sirius stares at her in confusion, noticing the glint in her eye far too late. She promptly sets the cat down, Mrs. Norris letting out a loud yowl at the action. Filch wheezes from inside his office and Gwen grins, whispering loudly,

"Nice try, lads."

James and Sirius stare after her as she sprints off, disappearing from sight right as Filch comes blundering out of his office.

"What is the meaning of this?!" He cries, loud enough that Gwen can hear around the corner, her laughs ringing out and making the boys cringe further. They were screwed.

Sirius gapes at the man, stuttering lamely, "I-it wasn't us!!"

"Well no one else is here," He sneers, grabbing both of the boys by the backs of their necks and marching them towards Minerva McGonagall's classroom.

"Wait till your head of house hears you've been harassing Mrs. Norris. AGAIN!"

James let's out an unappreciative groan, but Sirius is fuming, too pissed to even speak.

How had she done it again? She'd known exactly what he and James had planned.

He curses internally, swearing then and there that this is the year where he would get Gwenyth Whitlock once and for all.

He'd had it with being outsmarted, tired of her always being one step ahead of him and the lads.

This means war.