101 Ways to ditch the Date | SIRIUS BLACK

No. 45

After her classes were over, Ora spent the rest of the evening actually working in the Ravenclaw Common room for once, Emmeline by her side. Although Emmeline's gentle persuasion was partly the reason, the main reason was Dexter Warrington. The boy had clearly started his revision long ago and Ora didn't want to seem underprepared. Throughout the evening, whilst Emmeline was grateful for the silence, she also couldn't help feeling unnerved by Ora's sudden burst of motivation. It was only when Ora randomly jumped up, looking ridiculously enthusiastic that Emmeline finally spoke up.

"Okay, Ora, why are you working?" Emmeline asked, closing her book, "Usually you do no work before the Easter Holidays."

"Indeed," Ora replied, tucking her book under her arm, "Today is an exception though, I am pushing through because right now I have a reason to work."

Emmeline cocked her head to the side, "Sirius?"

"I did see him today but surprisingly no," She replied, "You know that boy who came up to ask me to join his law club thing? We're going to our first meeting today and I need to at least be on the same level as all the other Law students. Wow, it's funny how much I can do when I have something to prove!"

In response, Emmeline gave a small laugh, "If only I'd known that."

"You did," Ora replied, "But alas, I never felt the need to prove myself to you because you knew how lazy I am anyway. Dexter on the other hand, probably thinks I'm just as hard working as him, hence I need to prove myself."

"Okay..." Emmeline replied, "Have fun at your meeting then, hopefully, it will be helpful."

"It won't be, he's scheming - "

A loud sigh came from Emmeline, cutting Ora off midway, "Not everyone schemes, you know."

"He's applying for Law school and he's a Slytherin," Ora replied, scoffing, "Of course he schemes."

It took her a little while to remember where she was going, the memory of her conversation with Dexter overshadowed by her moments with Sirius but eventually, she remembered and headed over to Slughorn's office. Dexter answered the moment she knocked on the door and Ora was surprised to see how big the office was, about twice the size of Flitwick's with high ceilings and plush faded green sofas. She also noticed something else: how empty the office was.

It was just her and Dexter.

A slight sense of discomfort washed over her as she sat down, holding her book up like a slight shield.

"Um, I was under the impression there would be other people," She said after a pause.

Dexter looked down at his feet, "There were meant to be but Abigail dropped out of the process ... unexpectedly. She just couldn't cope."

"Ah, I see," She replied, her fingers tightening around the spine of her book, "That's interesting to know, so it's just the two of us?"

"Um ... yes," He replied awkwardly, "Is that okay?"

"Yeah..."

The two sat in silence once more, Ora quickly glancing at the clock and wondering what time it would be acceptable to leave, eventually deciding she had to say at least twenty minutes, not two. In one strange jerky movement, Dexter reached into his pocket, pulling out a scrunched up piece of parchment, mumbling:

"Just a moment, I have a list of activities to start this meeting off with," His eyes were scanning rapidly down the paper and Ora looked away, feeling more and more awkward by the minute, "Hm ... trying to find one that we can do with two people - "