First of all, disclaimer: I own nothing and no one but my little original character, all the credit for the genius of the Harry Potter series goes to J.K. Rowling. I also do not own the lyrics at the start of each chapter. Those are from "Forgiven" by Within Temptation.
I apologize in advance for any of Ms. Rowling's magical rules I may dent, bend, or break in the course of this fic. And the Sirius I write here is a bit of an amalgam of the book character and Gary Oldman's portrayal of the character, the latter of which truly inspired this story - for better or worse.
I wasn't going to post this just yet, however, I had a friend of mine read it and she said that she found the transitions into and out of the flashbacks to be confusing. I don't agree, so I'm posting it here in hopes of getting some opinions on that.
The story itself takes place just a few days after Sirius's death, though the first chapter is a flashback, and there will be continuous flashbacks scattered throughout.
Chapter One
"You'll always be mine
I know deep inside
All that's done's forgiven"
Aella strolled slowly through the crowded corridor, students all around her meeting with friends and rushing off to the Great Hall for lunch. Aella cast anxious glances all around her, not caring in the least if she obviously looked as though she were searching for someone. She slowed her pace further - she felt like if she moved any slower, she wouldn't be moving at all. As if any of this was going to make Sirius find her any faster. She knew it didn't matter. Her actions were all subconscious. Aella knew full well that Sirius would "find" her whenever he felt like it.
She hadn't seen him for a few days, since the night everyone first arrived back for the year, as a matter of fact. After the customary beginning-of-the-year sorting and feast, once all the students had gone back to respective common rooms, she and Sirius had retired early from the Gryffindor common room, sneaking to the boys' dormitories to have sex under James's Invisibility Cloak.
Aella was irritated by her dependency, by the fact that she needed Sirius. Furthermore, she knew he was probably avoiding her just to see how angry he could make her. Sirius seemed to love showcasing his talent of robbing Aella of any anger she may harbor for him, just by giving her the right look. It didn't matter if Aella had been seething for days, once she laid eyes on that long, black hair tumbling over large blue eyes, and that arrogant, charming smile, she couldn't help it. Who could stay mad? And even if she had the conviction to hold steadfast in her anger, what would be the point? She was only able to steal so much time with Sirius as it was, and that time was already much too little.
Aella sighed angrily as the corridor around her became more and more deserted. She had just made up her mind to hurry to the Great Hall and scour the place for Sirius when a strong arm suddenly wrapped roughly around her waist and a hand covered her mouth. In a matter of seconds, she was lifted off her feet and whisked into a nearby broom closet. The closet door shut loudly behind her, but her captor still did not release her. Aella squirmed a little in his grip, just for the hell of it, knowing full well who had his arms around her. If the mere fact that no other person in the school seemed to want to lay a hand on her wasn't enough for her to know her captor's identity, then his smell was certainly sufficient. Aella's mind worked strangely around Sirius's smell; she marked the passage of time by it. To her the school year didn't start until she was standing close to him, inhaling the scent of clean laundry and the springtime smell of fresh grass that lingered inexplicably with him. Conversely, summer wasn't summer until she was in his arms, breathing leather and firewhisky.
Sirius's hand moved from her mouth, sliding briefly across her neck before both his hands pulled her robe open, groping at her breasts through her shirt and sweater. Aella leaned her head back against his shoulder, breathing heavily more in the relief she felt from his touch than anything else. After a moment, she brushed his hands away and turned to face him.
"Sirius..."
His hands on her hips now, he grinned that grin that could charm any woman out of her clothes. He brushed a lock of light brown hair away from her hazel eyes.
"Aella."
A thought suddenly occured to her and she changed her expression to match it. She hit his chest with an angry fist.
"Where have you been, you bastard?"
Sirius sighed, a look of mock exasperation on his face.
"It's hard for me to get away," he explained sarcastically, as if he'd been doing something terribly important.
Aella shook her head. She took a step closer to Sirius, so that she had to tilt her head slightly upward to meet his eyes.
"You telling me you'd rather spend your time with your boys than with me?"
Sirius gave a low growl that seemed to warn Aella against making him choose between his girl and his best friends.
Aella looked slightly sheepish, as if she'd just been reprimanded, but Sirius could see he'd hurt her.
"Hey," he began in a soft tone perfect for an apology. He touched her face lovingly, brushing hair away again.
"No," Aella interrupted, kissing the palm of his hand and looking as though she'd shaken off the sadness. "It's okay. I just miss you."
Sirius smiled slowly, as if giving her time to say something more before he took her word for it. He leaned forward, kissing her softly and pushing her backward until she found the wall. Aella immediately wrapped an arm around Sirius's shoulders for support as he pulled her thigh up to his hip, his fingers lingering teasingly just under the fabric of her skirt. As Sirius's tongue slipped into her mouth, Aella shoved her free hand into his pants, pulling out his tucked-in shirt and sliding her hand over his chest, eager for the touch of bare skin. She opened her eyes as Sirius's lips left hers, moving his kisses down her neck. Aella took the opportunity to moan his name and comb her fingers affectionately through his hair. Sirius growled sensuously against her neck in response and wrapped her other leg around his waist. Sirius held her safe in the precarious position as Aella used both her hands to unfasten his pants. Her fingers freeing him, stroking him teasingly, Sirius's eyes caught Aella's, looking over her face for a few seconds that seemed to stretch on much longer. Sirius leaned closer, ready to kiss her, the moan of his name still escaping her lips, when everything seemed to dim, then fade away.
Aella had no idea where she was. Her mind faintly registered the sound of screams, but from somewhere far away, very distant. Everything was dark, and with most of her mind still fogged in sleep, she seemed to linger in a kind of purgatory. Abruptly, reality came rushing back to her as she realized the screams were her own.
