The other boy's shared a grin of eager anticipation before Remus reminded them it was almost dinner time so they left the common room and made their way down to the Great Hall.
"So Sirius" Remus addressed the boy with a mischievous grin. "Looking forward to your date with Marlene?" he asked innocently.
"It's not a bloody date" Sirius ground out irritably.
"He just wishes it was" Peter piped up.
Sirius shook his head.
"Just don't ok, it's bad enough that I get it from her" he sighed. "I asked her out once and she said no and that's that, I won't be doing it again" he vowed firmly. "10 Galleons says by February" Harry whispered to Remus.
"Done" Remus agreed immediately shaking the other boys hand.
"Not until after Easter" James cut in confidently.
Both Remus and Harry shrugged but took the bet.
"I can bloody well hear you" Sirius hissed angrily.
"If you're so confident then why don't you get in on it?" James asked with a smirk.
Sirius just huffed and fell silent.
"Christmas" Peter whispered with a snicker. They entered the hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table and began spooning their servings of food on to their plates. "Any idea how you're going to work with my cousin?" Sirius questioned Harry gravely.
"Just get in, get the work done and get out" he surmised.
"Best way" Sirius agreed. "And avoid eye contact, I swear her stare will freeze your soul, she must be part Dementor or something" he finished with a shiver.
"She's not that bad" Remus sighed. "Just don't look at her too much and whatever you do, do not make jokes, she doesn't like jokes, does she Sirius?" he questioned with a grin.
Sirius just shook his head.
"And don't try to flirt either" he warned. "I wouldn't put it past her to claim your stones as a memento of your time together" he added severely.
"Believe me, the last thing I would do is flirt with her" Harry replied seriously. "What kind of girls do you like Harry?" James asked suddenly.
"I don't really have a type" Harry mused aloud. "But I might have a crack at McKinnon if Sirius doesn't get in there quickly" he concluded jokingly.
"You bloody well won't" the other boy retorted heatedly before he inwardly scolded himself for his outburst.
The others just laughed at him victoriously.
"You know Peter, you might be right with your Christmas prediction" Remus quipped.
(BREAK)
Knowing he could no longer put off his meeting with Bellatrix, Harry tentatively exited the Gryffindor common after receiving some final sympathetic looks from the rest of the group before removing his copy of the map from his pocket and checking that he was not about to be ambushed. He would not put it past the LeStrange's to do so or even Bellatrix to help them.
After seeing that she was indeed alone on the third floor he sighed deeply and made his way to where she was waiting for him.
He steeled himself before opening the door and entering the room to be greeted by the sight of the girl herself sat at a table surrounded by various sheets of parchment.
"You know, it is rather rude to keep a lady waiting" she spoke casually, though Harry could tell she was irritated with him.
"I wasn't aware there was a lady waiting" Harry shrugged in reply.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at him.
"Very funny Potter, but it doesn't change the fact that you are late" she retorted. "It's after dinner" Harry pointed out. "You didn't actually give a specific time" he added.
"It means that when the plates are clear, you get your stuff and come here" Bellatrix growled.
"Ahh, then you have my deepest apologies for the misunderstanding my lady" Harry bit back sarcastically giving an elaborate vow.
The girl narrowed her eyes at him again but there was a hint of amusement in them.
"Your sarcasm needs work, the brutal honesty approach you used on that buffoon Rudolphus was much better" She praised genuinely.
"Well I imagine that spending time with you will give me plenty of chances to improve" Harry shrugged, ignoring the compliment. "And I'm surprised you haven't cursed me yet for embarrassing him" he added seriously.
"The only time I've thought about cursing you is for being late" she returned with a frown. "And now for your poor attempt at sarcasm" she continued. "Rudolphus is a moron and got exactly what he deserved and there's definitely more to you than meets the eye" she finished confidently.
'How the hell did she end up married to the prat, she clearly cannot stand him?' Harry questioned internally. 'Something must have happened for it to have happened, something big'.
He decided to put that away to think about further later, but something certainly was not adding up about the entire thing.
"And why would you think there is more to me, we have only been speaking for a few minutes" he reminded her.
"I watched you yesterday, you're not like my cousin and those other Gryffindor idiots you spend time with" she replied with a shrug.
"How so?" Harry questioned curiously. Bellatrix sighed and placed her quill down before looking at him calculatingly.
"Firstly, you didn't immediately attack him when he insulted you and you even stopped your brother from being his typical obtuse self" she began.
Harry grudgingly nodded his agreement, clearly she was observant.
"Secondly, you drew your wand and was ready to defend yourself if by some miracle he could understand what you were saying" she continued. "Also, you didn't confront him, he confronted you like the fool he is and tried to attack someone he knew nothing about and he paid the price" she added.
"True" Harry responded simply.
"See, that makes you different, that was more of a Slytherin move" she returned curiously. "And you are somewhat interesting considering no one knew you existed until a few days ago" she elaborated thoughtfully.
"Family secret" Harry shrugged.
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