Harry Potter 1. One: In Which Abby Makes Her Entrance

"Please don't make me go," Abby Douglas begged, the girl sitting across from her in the slightly damp autumn grass was none other than Lily Evans.

Abby, being a seventh year, was a year ahead of Lily, but that didn't stop Lily from bossing her around like her mother.

It was time again for Hogwarts' Halloween Masquerade Ball, and Abby, not being one for dances, was begging Lily not to make her go.

"You're the bloody Head Girl!" Lily exclaimed, slightly exasperated at having this conversation yet again. "You _have_ to go! That and the dress we bought last weekend looks amazing on you! You can't let it go to waste!"

Lily paused for a brief moment before saying in a patronizing and teasing voice, "And I'm sure that Professor Sexy Shorts will be there,"

Abby groaned and lay back in the grass. The last blow was way below the belt. Abby had developed an attraction to the young Defense Against The Dark Arts professor, Professor Travors.

The female population of the school had nicknamed him Professor Sexy Shorts; you would expect more wit from a bunch of witches. Abby rolled over to lie on her stomach. It seemed that she would be going to the Halloween Ball after all.

Two days later, Abby stood in front of the mirror in her Hufflepuff dorm room and stared at herself.

She was wearing a long silver dress that clung to her thin frame. The dress split up the right leg showing off her tan legs. Abby felt exposed and slightly awkward.

The silver high heels she was wearing made her normally 5'2" body about an inch taller.

Her long, curly blonde hair was down, and framed her face. The mask she was wearing was again, silver in color, and her bright blue eyes shined brightly from behind it.

Abby sighed and thought "_Well it isn't going to get any better." _

After another ten minutes of staring blankly at the mirror, Abby left the common room and headed toward the Great Hall.

As she entered, Abby noticed that she was indeed fashionably late.

She glanced quickly around the slightly crowded room. She noticed Lily first, standing in the corner with a Ravenclaw girl that Abby recognized as a prefect.

Her eyes flickered over to where James Potter was standing alone. The Douglas family used to be good friends with The Potters, but that was back when Abby was only a small child, her older brother Logan was only a young boy, and James had been only a todler.

Abby and James were only acquaintances, but Abby decided to take a bit of a chance and ask him to dance.

As she approached him he noticed his gaze was fixated on the corner where Lily was standing.

Abby watched James realize that she was walking toward him and he gave her a slight grin.

"Douglas." James said in greeting, nodding his head slightly.

Abby rolled her eyes and laughed at James, "Potter." She said in a teasing voice, "Would you like to dance?"

James appeared to be thinking it over in his head and after a few long moments seemed to decide that dancing with her wouldn't be the end of the world.

Without even giving her an answer, his hand took one of hers and pulled her out onto the dance floor.

Abby's arms barely had enough time to find there way around James' neck before he began dancing like he was trying to compensate for something.

After several minutes of this Abby was tweaked to say the least.

James' gaze was on Lily the whole time and there were multiple times that he had stepped on her toes because he wasn't paying attention.

After a particularly painful step on the toes Abby had had enough of dancing with James.

She let go of him and stopped dancing.

Abby turned to walk away from James but he took hold of her wrist.

"Oi, Douglas!" James exclaimed.

When James' hand took hold of her arm roughly, Abby reacted without think her other hand came up to punch James in the cheek resulting in James letting out a groan of pain.

James immediately let go of her arm and the moment he did Abby quickly walked away from him.

Professor Travors, who had been watching Abby since she had entered, cringed when he saw her punch the Potter boy.

Furrowing his brow he went to go have a brief word with her. The Professor caught up to Abby as she paused to grab a glass of punch.

"Wow," Professor Travors said as he approached her, "You have one hell of a right cross. Sure I've hit people, but I wasn't Head Boy, and as you can tell, nor was I Head Girl,"

Abby was startled by the Professor's voice behind her and she turned to look at him, a slightly worried look on her face, "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Abby asked, sighing.

"Professor, I assure you, James Potter got exactly what he deserved," Abby said, hoping that Professor Travors would see her point of view.

"No, no, you aren't in trouble," Professor Travors was silent as he stared down at the Head Girl.

"I'm not very fond of dances," Abby remarked to break the awkward silence that had formed as the Professor looked at her.

The look on Professor Travors face changed as he seemed to be brought back to reality. His brow furrowed. "And why is that?" He asked curiously.

Abby shrugged nonchalantly. "I've never had anyone to go with; I'm a bit socially awkward,"

Abby wasn't expecting the deep laugh that Professor Travors let out after her comment. After a few moments he stopped and said, "Now that can't be true. A beautiful, witty girl like you has to have guys falling all over you,"

Abby raised her eyebrows at the Professor with an amused look on her face. She laughed, "I guess it's just not my thing,"

She shrugged and smiled brightly at the handsome professor.

There was another long awkward silence and Abby then said, "So I've been meaning to ask you, I want to enter the Auror Program after Hogwarts and I was wondering if you would be willing to give me some extra lessons sometime?" Abby finished a hopeful look on her face.

Professor Travors smiled down at Abby, "Of course, does tomorrow work for you?" He asked. Abby nodded. "Alright then, tomorrow it is. I should get back to the staff table. I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Douglas,"

With one last smile in her direction Professor Sexy Shorts walked away from her, back toward the staff table.

Abby stood awkwardly watching other people at the ball dance and laugh.

After a few moments, a boy she recognized immediately, despite the black mask he was wearing over his eyes, as Sirius Black wandered over to her.

_Oh god, one of James' friends. _Abby thought to herself bitterly.

Sirius looked incredulously at her, "You have one hell of a right cross,"

Abby nearly laughed out loud as Sirius said exactly what Professor Travors had said to her. Abby waited to hear more from him before saying anything, her gaze fixed out in front of her.

Sirius leaned over into her gaze and she raised one eyebrow at him and tilted her head toward him. "I'm Sirius," He said, his gaze fixed on her bright blue eyes.

"Abby," She said, choosing not to look at Sirius, but to glance around the Great Hall instead.

Clearly Sirius didn't pick up on her lack of interest.

Instead he spoke up again, "Would you like to dance?" He asked, still trying to catch her gaze.


	2. Two: In Which A Prank Is Pulled

Sirius Black had quite the reputation preceding him when he asked Hogwarts' Head Girl to dance with him. Most people were aware of his… promiscuous behavior when it came to girls.

Abby wasn't one for rumors, and she most certainly wasn't one for passing judgments, but Abby still looked over at him skeptically.

"Just a dance." Sirius assured her, his hands going up in surrender.

Abby sighed and nodded, a small half smile working its way onto her heart shaped face. Sirius grinned in a boyish, roguish way that made every girl at Hogwarts swoon.

Sirius offered his hand out to Abby. Abby placed her small hand into his larger one, his hands were warm and there was something nice about the feel of his hand in hers.

Abby's brain went to mush and she almost had to shake her head to get herself to concentrate again.

Abby was beautiful, but she hadn't participated in dating as much as other girls her age. She had admirers, but no one that she was particularly interested in. She kept mostly to herself and her few close friends.

She never would have expected that Sirius Black, despite being a year younger than her, would be expressing some sort of an interest in her.

The pair stepped forward and onto the dance floor. Sirius' hand let go of Abby's and his hands moved rest on her hips. Abby placed her arms carefully around Sirius' neck.

Sirius was even taller than James, and if she had been looking straight ahead, Abby would have been staring straight at Sirius' chest.

With Sirius somewhat leading, the two began moving to the slow song currently playing.

Abby was silent, unsure of what to say to Sirius. Lucky for her, Sirius spoke up.

"Why have I never seen you around before? I was sure I knew every beautiful girl at Hogwarts." Sirius asked, looking down at Abby.

Abby rolled her eyes at the blatant pick up line. "You must be quite oblivious. I am, after all, Head Girl." Abby answered, giving a Sirius a curious look. "But of course everyone knows you. Sirius Black never held down by a real relationship. Any truth to those rumors?"

Sirius looked slightly taken aback. He wasn't sure how to respond to a pointed question like that. He paused for a moment; his handsome face was twisted into a quizzical look.

"Yes. Some of them are true, others aren't. I'm not as untamable as the rumors make me come off as. You don't seem like the kind of person to judge though, am I right?" Sirius answered after a few long moments of thinking.

Abby was surprised at the fact that Sirius was able to peg her so well.

"Yeah." Was all that Abby could think to say.

The two continued dancing. Abby was still unsure of what to say, but Sirius seemed content staring down at Abby. Abby cast her gaze downward, a light blush painting her cheeks. The song they were dancing to came to an end and Abby dropped her hands from Sirius' neck.

"Thank you for the dance. I s'pose I'll see you around." Abby said in a rush, turning and walking toward the side of the Great Hall once more. Sirius watched her go with a slightly somber look on his face.

Across the room, James was standing with Peter Pettigrew. "Watch this Wormtail." He said, and with a flick of his wand, the punch that Abby was holding turned a green color and then back to its original red.

Abby brought the glass of punch to her lips, and after taking a sip, she felt her face begin to swell. Panicking, Abby turned and ran from the Great Hall.

Sirius, who had been watching Abby after she had walked away from him, had seen what had happened when she had drunk from her punch glass. Quickly following her out into the Entrance Hall, Sirius managed to find her, leaning against a wall.

He quickly assessed what had been done to her and said quickly, "Calm down, I can fix this."

Sirius made to pull out his wand, but Abby pushed him away. "I'm sure this was just one of you and Potter's jokes. Just leave me alone Sirius." If the words had been spoken by someone whose face was in its regular state, they would have sounded more authoritative. But due to the fact that Abby's face was in fact, at least 3 or 4 times its normal size, the words came out slurred and didn't sound very demanding.

Regardless of what Sirius was going to do next, Abby turned again and ran away from him. Sirius sighed and decided it best not to go after her. Instead he turned and went back into the Great Hall, walking over to James and punching him the in shoulder.

Abby wasn't running long before she ran straight into Professor Travors. Abby had been running as fast as her legs would take her and when she collided with the Professor, he had to grab her around the waist to keep her from being knocked to the ground. After steadying her, the Professor took in her appearance and sighed. "Shouldn't have punched James Potter, eh?" The Professor said, in an attempt to make light of the situation. When he realized that his words hadn't helped anything, he spoke again, "Right, to my office then to fix you up."

Professor Travors guided Abby quickly through the halls of Hogwarts and into his office. Once there, he sat her down in one of the chairs by his desk and pulled out his wand. After muttering a few spells, the swelling had gone down severely and Abby's large blue eyes were now visible, and they shined in the light because of tears unshed. A few tears managed to escape and Professor Travors wiped them away with his thumb. "No tears," he said, "wouldn't want to stain your pretty face."

Abby smiled slightly at the Professor, and he smiled back.

"I'm sorry about this Professor." Abby said, standing up with the intention of leaving his office.

"Don't be, it's quite alright." The Professor said, and Abby realized how close she was standing to him after she stood up.

Abby looked up into the Professor's eyes, and in a moment of pure insanity, she leaned up and kissed the Professor.


	3. Three: In Which Rumors Fly

The kiss was soft and hesitant. Abby felt the Professor begin to respond, his lips parting and beginning to kiss her back but then he tensed and pulled away quickly. His hands went to her shoulders and stepped back so that she was at arms length.

Abby flushed furiously, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. She cast her eyes downward, waiting.

"Abby…" Professor Travors whispered in a pained voice. "You're beautiful. But this is wrong on so many levels. I'm not the one for you, and even if I were, it would never work."

Abby choked back a sob and nodded slowly. "I'm sorry." She managed to say. "I understand. I should leave then, I suppose." Abby voice cracked on the last part of her sentence.

Abby was numb on her walk back to the Hufflepuff Dorms. All her emotions caught up with her when she reached the warmth of her bed.

For the next two weeks Abby managed to avoid Professor Travors' class. She would then copy the notes of her dorm mates while they were sleeping. Abby had become somewhat of a recluse. She skipped all of her meals, and only snuck down to the kitchens when completely necessary. She had also barely slept. To put it bluntly, Abby was a mess.

It was a chilly November Saturday; Abby pulled on a sweatshirt and some jeans and went down toward the doors to the Grounds.

As she neared them, she felt eyes on her. The eyes didn't bother her as much as the whispers that she heard next,

"I heard that she and Professor Travors shagged and now she's pregnant with his baby."

"No, that's all wrong, I heard that she practically jumped his bones, and he rejected her. Seriously, who wouldn't though?"

"I bet she's going to fake being pregnant for attention."

"I heard her throwing up in the prefects' bathroom yesterday morning. Morning sickness for sure."

Anger coursed through Abby's veins. "Would you all just bugger off? And shut the hell up about what you don't know!" She shouted, her head whipping around to glare at the groups of people talking about her. As she turned, she caught the gaze of a grey-eyed boy standing in the corner of the Entrance Hall.

Tears filled her blue eyes and she whipped around, speed walking toward the door. Once outside, she broke into a run toward the far edge of the lake. After about ten seconds of running, she heard someone shouting her name.

A glance over her shoulder informed her that it was Sirius who was following her. Looking back cause her to stumble and fall on the cool grass. She allowed her body to collide with the grass and she rolled onto her back, squeezing her eyes against the tears in them.

Sirius dropped down on the grass beside her. He was silent for a moment before breaking the ice.

"So nice day today, eh?" Abby opened her eyes and looked over at him, catching his gaze. Sirius was slightly taken aback by the pain in her eyes.

"What are they talking about, Abby?" He asked in a soft voice. Abby let out a small sob and sat up, biting her lip.

"It's not true, right?" He inquired. Abby looked at him incredulously.

Sirius raised his hands in surrender. "I was just making sure." He said, defensively. "I didn't think it was."

Abby continued to stare at him for a minute before saying, "You don't even know me."

Sirius shrugged before laying back into the grass. "Doesn't matter. I know enough." He paused for a second. "There must be some reason they're saying those things though, right?"

His eyes were closed and Abby looked him over, she nodded, but then realized that his eyes were closed. "Yes." She said softly.

Sirius nodded. "So you didn't shag him?"

Abby glared at him, "What do you even want, Sirius? Why are you here?" Abby got to her feet, her arms crossed over her chest.

Sirius' eyes opened at the harsh tone in her voice. He too got to his feet. "I dunno." He said simply, turning and walking away.

After he left, Abby walked to the far end of the lake, sitting by the edge. Her knees were pulled up to her chest. The sun was beginning to set and Abby rested her head against her knees.

"Hey, you a'right then?" Abby jumped at the voice behind her. She turned to see none other Professor Travors standing behind her. Abby felt the overwhelming urge to run, but her legs refused. She turned back to the lake.

"I'm perfectly fine." She said in hard, cold voice. Behind her, Professor Travors sighed. He seemed to be trying to decide something. Finally, he sat down in the grass beside her. "You've been skipping meals. I don't think that constitutes being fine."

Abby shrugged, not saying anything. Abby noticed that Professor Travors was careful to keep space between them, sitting far enough away that either party could move a good deal and still not touch one another.

There were several moments of intense silence before the Professor spoke again. "Look Abby…" he started by Abby stopped him.

"Don't." She said, straining to keep her voice even. "I don't care."

"Obviously you do, as you have stopped attending my class." Professor Travors raised his voice slightly, as he was beginning to get irritated.

"Just bugger off!" Abby said before she could stop herself. She hadn't meant to say that to him. "I didn't mean that." She whispered. "You've obviously heard the rumors, and I apologize for any trouble I might have caused you."

"Abby, I don't give a damn what the rumors say, I'm not worried about what people are saying about me. I've spoken to Dumbledore and he knows the truth. It's what people are saying about you that worries me." He spoke softly and gently, his hand coming up to tilt her head toward him.

Abby turned her head against his hand. "It shouldn't. I'm fine." She said simply. It was blatant that she was not fine and her lack of concern for anything was beginning to grate on the young man sitting beside her.

"You're hardly fine! Look at yourself. You're a mess. Hell, I'm a mess! I can't stand to see you sulking about, not eating, looking like you've hardly slept and knowing that I caused it!" Professor Travors paused, taking a deep breath. "But there isn't anything I can do. I can't give you what you want. Even if I wanted it too."

With those words he stood, brushing his jeans off. "You can't keep doing this though. You can't not attend my class and expect to become an Auror. It just won't work. Grow up a little bit, Abby."


End file.

Harry Potter, Romance