"You can count on me like one, two, three:
I'll be there.
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two:
You'll be there.
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contrary to Sirius' assumption that she was clueless, Bell had noticed something in her best friend's gaze as he teased her about The Nickname™, but it wasn't an emotion she'd ever seen from him before and so passed it off as amusement or something. That was the only logical explanation she could think of, anyway, and she didn't feel like it was worth any further thought, either, so she completely let it go- and promptly frowned at the parchment Sirius had produced from his pocket.

"How did you already wrinkle it so much?"

He winked at her, giving a flourished toss of his hair, a move that he pulled often to try and get her to swoon (which had never succeeded), and replied in a posh accent; "Well, my dear, it has to do entirely with my knack for making a mess of things-"

Bell unintentionally cut him off with a loud snort of amusement, but he didn't seem to mind; rather, he chuckled along, apparently proud of his somewhat self-deprecating joke. Feeling a little bad for laughing so abruptly, Bell reached for the parchment to smooth it out, but Sirius practically swatted her hand away and she raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"You know, I think we should keep-" He quickly did a scan of his list, which covered both sides of the parchment (as did Bell's, and she was glad to see how committed he was to this idea), and went on, "-three of our desires to ourselves."

'Desires' was a peculiar word to use, but Bell agreed to this spontaneous adaptation nevertheless.

"Alright, sure. As for the rest- do you want to go first? Oh- and should we have a veto or something, just in case?"

Sirius nodded to answer both questions and raised his list to the light but hid the back of it from Bell's view- she supposed this was to keep up the air of mediocre mystery -clearing his throat in preparation to share his goals. From silly to completely solemn, academic to party-centered, light-hearted to deeply-personal, Bell was all ears.

"One: skip."

Already? Huh. This was the very first thing noted, meaning it was very important to him, and Bell was a little awed that he would start off his list with something so significant he wouldn't even tell her. Then again, thinking about the second item on her list, she'd be doing the same when it came to her turn.

"Two: move into the flat my Uncle Alphard left me when he died last year."

Sirius had only once mentioned his uncle's passing last year, the day he got the news through his brother Regulus. Sirius' spirits had fallen for a good two days from this event and although he didn't tell Bell, she'd gathered he was more hurt by how his mother hadn't even thought to send him a letter about it. Alphard was the only older relative of Sirius' who he'd liked, but she'd sent the news to Regulus, who barely even knew the old man. Although Bell had long known of Walburga's demeanor towards her elder son, she began to fully despise Sirius' cruel mother after those two days and when the summer holidays came about that year and the next, she worried after his wellbeing at Grimmauld Place. It was heartening to Bell to hear he was leaving behind that toxic environment as soon as possible.

"Three: protect you and Lily from Voldemort and his followers at all costs."

Sudden tears pricked at Bell's eyes and she blinked them away. What had she ever done to deserve a friend like Sirius? Her gratitude for his friendship washed over her like a wave and she looked down, fiddling with the buttons on her sleeve cuffs, trying to hide the tear that escaped her eye just then. Sirius paused, noticing, but made no remark and only smiled softly at the paper in his hand, giving her a chance to restabilize, the kindness of which almost sent another tear rolling down Bell's cheek. After his respectful pause, Sirius went on,

"Four: get Regulus out from under Walburga's thumb, maybe get him to move in with me."

This startled Bell a little, but she didn't let it show. She knew Sirius had a strained relationship with his younger brother but hadn't known why until this moment. She suddenly felt a little silly for not having realized it was Walburga's doing. Of course it was. A very dark thought having to do with Sirius' mother and tar and chicken feathers crossed her mind but she quickly pushed it away as her best friend continued, lightly tossing his hair out of his eyes,

"Five: help to finally convince Evans to give James a chance."

Bell's eyes lit up and she gave a small laugh. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her interruption of his reading but she waved off his pretended annoyance as she replied, "I have that on my list, too." Sirius grinned. "About time, isn't it?" "Oh, definitely." They both chuckled for a moment, the mood lightening from the more sober subjects of his earlier goals, and Bell leaned back in her beanbag as Sirius continued,

"Six: get a memorial item from every friend to remember this year by."

Bell smiled at that. What a good idea. She had a similar one on her list, but it was a little less about possessions than it was regarding the preservation of memories.

"Seven: take the perfect picture with you just in case we..." 

Bell's content smile faltered. "In case we fall out of contact after this year?" Sirius nodded wordlessly and she laid a comforting hand on his arm. "We won't. I swear it on Dumbledore's ever-lengthening beard. The day we lose touch is the day that man shaves." Her joking brought a small smile to Sirius' face and Bell felt satisfied that she'd reassured him.

"Eight: graduate from Hogwarts with high enough grades to become an Auror." 

Sirius turned a pleading grin toward Bell and she laughed, dropping her voice as the distinct, brisk footsteps of Madam Pince drew closer. "Of course I'll help you. Whatever you need, whatever subject, as long as I can help you achieve your dream." 

Sirius' smile, just at that moment, was already all the thanks Bell needed.

"But-" Immediately Sirius' grin drooped into a sort of puppy-dog worry that almost made Bell want to pat him on the head apologetically. "I won't do your assignments for you. I'll help, but I won't write your Potions essay because you got hungover at one of Lockheart's parties." The excited and thankful smile she'd cherished just a moment ago returned to Sirius' face. 

"Yes, yes yes, of course." 

Bell raised an eyebrow and he added sheepishly, "Not even once?" 

"Maybe once. If I'm feeling especially generous."

"QUIET!"

The pair startled as Irma Pince's sharp, nasally voice snapped across the bookshelves toward them. Bell shook her head, chuckling softly at the irony of her command, but stopped as the librarian's piercing gaze snapped back on her for a moment. Madam Pince made the universal gesture of "I've got my eye on you" to both Bell and Sirius before she went on her way and Sirius shivered, pretending to have goosebumps just from Madam Pince's chilling presence. 

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen her blink." After a short, purposefully-quiet laugh at Bell's joke, Sirius scanned his list again and brought them back on track.

"Nine: boost Peter's confidence in himself. Ten: help Remus smile more."

Bell's heart warmed and she couldn't help but smile. All those girls who said Sirius Black was a player who only cared about himself or that he made reckless, spur-of-the-moments decisions without a thought for those around him had never seen the true Sirius as she had. Sure, he was known pretty widely around the castle as a flirty prankster, but there was so, so much more to him than what those girls thought. They'd never seen the way he worried over Remus when he was in poor health, had never heard the way he praised James' Quidditch skills without an ounce of jealousy, had never known the silent kindness with which he passed his scarf to Marlene in the winter, hugged Peter after a difficult test, and kept Bell focused on late homework nights with cups of coffee and encouraging smiles. This was the Sirius she adored, the best friend she could never ask anything more of, and this- this was exactly why.

"Eleven: skip. Twelve: skip."

Bell raised an eyebrow at Sirius but said nothing. He, apparently seeing her expression out of the corner of his eye, nodded, acknowledging that he wouldn't be able to skip any more of his goals, as previously agreed.

"Thirteen: leave a legacy of the greatest prank ever pulled at Hogwarts, surpassing even the Prewett twins' final escapade."

Both of Bell's eyebrows lifted this time in her surprise. "And how do you plan to do that? The giant aardvark piñata with the almonds and ever-multiplying toads will be hard to beat." Sirius nodded earnestly and replied, shooting her a mischievous smirk, "I have a few ideas, but they'll have to wait until the very last week or else I'd risk getting expelled." 

"That crazy, huh?" 

"Exactly that crazy."

Bell widened her eyes comically and gave a low whistle. "I'll be on stand-by with Madam Pomfrey and a stretcher- that is, if I'm not involved." Her conspiratorial grin faded as she heard Madam Pince's footsteps again, this time coming from around the other bookshelf, and she had to stifle a laugh when the strict librarian snapped for them to shush again and Sirius tensed up like a deer in headlights. He laughed it off (quietly) and in a few seconds returned to the topic at hand...