✓ | MISCHIEF MANAGED | James Potter V.S. Sirius Black

6 : Feel This Moment

Catherine rolled her eyes, tagging after him as she pouted. "But you still didn't have to pay for it. It is my stuff, after all." She suddenly brightened and wagged a finger at Sirius who quirked an eyebrow at that. "You know what? Butterbeer will be my treat."

"Deal," Sirius agreed, chuckling to himself and tucking the parcel inside Catherine's magic bag as they made their way to Three Broomsticks.

Upon entering, Catherine caught sight of several students from Hogwarts. Sirius placed his hand on the small of her back and gently pushed her to the direction of an empty booth. Sliding in the seat across of the boy, Catherine scrunched her nose up once she realized her fellow Hogwarts students recognized her. She didn't like eavesdropping, but they were talking so loud, she couldn't help but overhear.

"Isn't Catherine Valentine dating Potter? Why is she with Sirius Black?" a Hufflepuff questioned.

"I reckon the whole thing was a bluff," a Ravenclaw said in a smart, snobbish tone. "There's no way Potter would suddenly stop fancying Lily Evans."

"Or maybe she's shagging them both," a Slytherin girl joined in their conversation, tossing some crisps into her mouth. "I know I would."

Sirius who had just finished ordering two Butterbeers with Catherine's money obviously heard what the girls were gossiping about. He scowled and pushed himself off of his seat and stalked to where they were. Immediately, seductive smirks painted on their lips as they batted their eyelashes at Sirius who openly scoffed at their attitude. He approached them with a dark glower. "Pardon me, ladies," his voice was suave but a furious aura waved off his body. "I'd bloody appreciate it if you kept your big mouths shut."

The Ravenclaw girl's jaw dropped upon his words.

Sirius just continued talking, "I don't particularly enjoy hearing you lot gossip about my new best friend, and my best mate's girl. As a matter of fact, they actually are dating."

Sirius was growling angrily as he swiveled around to head back to his seat when the Slytherin girl said in a sniffy tone, "Regulus was right. You are a prick."

He froze on his feet before spinning around to smile saccharinely. "Regulus said I was a prick? Then you obviously don't know him well enough to come up with that lie." Without another word, Sirius walked away and slid back in his booth.

Catherine was frowning at him, eyebrows drawn together worriedly. "Are you all right?"

He hummed noncommittally and gave her a half smile. "What are friends for?"

Catherine laughed, shaking her head at him before flashing him a smile as she reached over to lightly touch the back of his hand. "Thank you," she paused, "Sirius." Her last word lingered in the air between them.

Sirius was taken aback for a moment, surprised over the fact that Catherine finally called him by his first name. He liked it, the way her tongue curled around the name. He could listen to her talk repeatedly about anything all day long. Hell, Sirius would even listen to her read the entire book Binns had droned about yesterday and he would never get bored with her voice.

He raised his bottle of Butterbeer for a toast. "To best friends?"

Catherine tipped her head back to laugh as she grabbed her own to clink it against his. "To best friends," she confirmed with a slight smirk. She took a sip, sighing in content as she teased, "I don't know how I'm going to tell my children one day that Sirius Black managed to convince me to be his best friend."

He chuckled, pointing at her with a wagging finger. "I'd be glad to be known as the first boy to manage this little mischief maker."

Catherine shook her head to herself and repeating, "Well call me a mischief being managed." She froze for a bit, her head snapping up to meet Sirius's wide eyes.

In unison the two of them said, "Mischief managed."

Sirius was scoffing in disbelief, a huge grin painted on his lips. "You're a bloody genius, Cat. I don't know how you did it, but the map would've been impossible without you."

"Not true!" Catherine protested as she took another sip. "The opening line was mostly James and the closing was you — I just pitched in a bit."

"Well, we ought to tell the boys once we get back."

The front door to Three Broomsticks was pushed open as a strong gust of air entered the place. Catherine shivered from the cold, the hairs at the back of her neck rising as she placed her hands under her thighs to sit on them for warmth.

"Are you cold?" Sirius asked in a concerned manner, setting down his bottle.

"I'm fine." Catherine flashed him an assuring smile though her slightly shivering body said otherwise.

Sirius chuckled softly before unraveling his scarf. He stretched his hands out to hand it to her when an obnoxious voice called out, "Oi, Valentine!"

Catherine's head snapped to the side, her smile widening upon seeing James, Remus, and Peter. Instantly, the hazel eyed boy slid into the booth next to Catherine's, causing her to be pressed next to him, their legs touching. Remus and Peter went to sit next to Sirius who begrudgingly moved, his hands still holding the scarf halfway across the table.

James, oblivious to Sirius's slight scowl, kept his bright and beaming face directed to Catherine. "Guess what, Valentine? I said hello to Evans today, and she replied! She just hummed back a hi in return, but who cares! She bloody responded. All thanks to you, Valentine." He flashed her a dazzling smile as he threw his arm around her, resting it on the back of her seat.

Catherine rubbed her neck to get some warmth as she offered James a smile. "I must say, I'm impressed, Potter. A greeting from Lily without any name calling? You're one step closer to being less of a toerag to her."

This elicited an agreeing laugh from Peter as Remus took a swig from Sirius's Butterbeer.

James wasn't listening to what she'd just said as he observed the way she was rubbing her hands together for warmth and subconsciously gravitating towards his body for heat. His hand darted forward and cupped the back of her neck, making Catherine cut her eyes to him. "Blimey, Valentine, you're freezing!" James withdrew his hand back to unravel his Gryffindor scarf. "Here, take this." He took the liberty on doing it himself, covering her exposed neck with the warm cloth.

Catherine attempted to take the scarf out. "No, this is yours — "

James reached around her back to gently pull her hair outside the scarf so that it would tumble down her back. He charmingly grinned at her. "It's not a problem, Valentine. You need it more than I do." He shrugged while nonchalantly leaning back against his seat.

Catherine smiled to herself at James's unexpected gesture. "Thank you, then."

His arm still draped around the back of her seat, James used his other hand to flick her nose. "We can't have Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

She laughed in surprise, her eyes widening at the boy who was grinning at her. "You know Jack Frost?"

"He brushes up on Muggle stories every now and then," Peter said, taking the bottle of Sirius's Butterbeer that Remus was now handing to him. "He said it would impress Evans one day."

"Right you are, Wormtail," James exclaimed brightly and faced Catherine to reach over and play with the scarf around her. "You know, I bet you two Galleons this thing couldn't possibly be large enough to cover your big head."

"Bring it on, Potter," Catherine challenged as she allowed James to mummify her face with his scarf.

In front of the two, Remus watched the scene unfolding them with amused eyes as Sirius scowled, his fingers clenching around his scarf as he slowly brought it down to his lap.

A/N

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