Right as Rain

A cool chill settled in the air at Hogsmeade, snow falling lightly to the ground after it had pounded down overnight. Witches and Wizards alike were dressed in warm woollen coats, with beanies on their heads and thick scarves wrapped around their neck to stay warm. Even a simple heating charm only just kept the cold out, so most took to fleeing indoors to escape the cold winter weather.

But for the young folk of Hogwarts, the students spread out across Hogsmeade enjoying their time out of class and with their friends to do as they please this weekend.

For some, it wasn't so easy.

Zara had wondered around til she was bored out of her mind and had then decided to seek out her friends. It wasn't a surprise that Sirius hadn't showed up to their usual meets at The Three Broomsticks after their argument the previous week after class, but deep down she had hoped he would show up.

It was almost tradition that their group would gather every Hogsmeade weekend for a butterbeer towards the end of their afternoon, even if they had dates planned for the day. It was a tradition that had been formed when their friendship bloomed in third year. They had dubbed her their honorary Hufflepuff and ever since they had been thick as thieves. When Zara wasn't hanging out with her Slytherin friends Ayesha and Milan she was with the Marauders.

It had been a weird week of not hanging out with the boys so often considering she was fighting with Sirius but she was glad to see them today.

She wasn't sure what was running through his mind lately, why he was so god damn difficult to talk with but it had been that way ever since he had returned from Christmas at home. She knew that his home life was tough in more ways than one and so she respected that and gave him space, until space for a few days had turned into him ignoring her for weeks on end.

When she finally decided to confront him after class he had ignored her once more before the then embarrassing potions class where of-bloody-course they were partnered together to make a batch of Amortentia, the world's most potent love potion.

And now she was sitting in The Three Broomsticks listening to her friends defend Sirius for ignoring her for so long. She couldn't believe she was hearing this load of crap. She was positively fuming.

"You're kidding me! Absolutely fuc-," Zara exclaimed, a hand clamping over her mouth before she could finish.

"Language, Winters," James laughed, causing Peter to chuckle along as well at Zara's display of emotion. Usually she was the cool headed one amongst their group of friends, at least that's what they thought of the Hufflepuff.

"It's a load of bollocks. That's what," Zara said pointedly, crossing her arms as she leaned back in their booth at The Three Broomsticks after she let her mug of butterbeer drop to the table in an angry gesture.

The three boys looked at each other and then back at their friend who was glaring at the current mug in front of her with fire burning in her eyes. They had never seen Zara this angry. Sure they had seen her upset every now and then but never like this. She was usually a quiet soul, but when she cracked she was like a spitfire out of control, raging and burning til someone smothered it out, usually that person was Sirius.

"He's just… sensitive about the whole situation."

"Sensitive? He thinks that he has the right to be sensitive? It wasn't his arse being embarrassed in front of the whole potions class now was it?"

She clearly remembered her burning cheeks when Professor Slughorn had made her announce to the class what she could smell from the Amortentia. It wasn't too obvious that it was connected to Sirius to the rest of the class, but of course, Peter like the rat he was accidentally announced that it was the very same cologne that Sirius wore which then linked it to him like an arrow hitting its target.

She didn't even look him in the eye, but it didn't matter considering that he was ignoring her in the first place anyway. She distinctly remembered the wolf whistles from boys in the room and the scoffs from pureblood girls who muttered under their breath how Zara was a pathetic mudblood that would never gain the affections of the boy she was so obviously in love with.

"He's never been in a situation like this before," Remus tried to defend, shifting awkwardly in his seat when her glare moved from the mug to him. "It's new to him."

"Relationships are far from new to Sirius Black," Zara scoffed. "Besides, it doesn't mean he can just straight up ignore me."

"Relationships with people he cares about are new to him. He doesn't want to screw this up," James said, hoping Zara would get that he was trying to point out it was more than just a friendship relationship, but a real one between two people with feelings for each other. But he figured her mind was still so focused on their argument they had earlier.

"God knows we know that," Peter mentioned. "He's been moaning about his undying love for you for months on end now."

"He's been what?" Zara gawked, not realising that Sirius felt that way about her. Sure they had been flirting a little more than usual but they hadn't moved past anything more than just being friends.

Peter's words made her soften a little, a sigh escaping her lips. She wasn't so angry anymore, a little upset, but a part of her felt bad for jumping the gun and fighting so quickly.

"Uh, I don't think I was meant to say that," Peter said with wide eyes before taking a large gulp of his butterbeer to occupy himself.

"Where's the idiot now?" Zara asked, eyes moving to James who pulled out the Map from his coat pocket.

"Moping by the Shrieking Shack," James said as he took a peek at the Marauder's Map that showed Sirius sitting just outside the Shack, it looked like he was pacing around.

"It's bloody freezing out and he's sitting there like an idiot. He didn't even take his scarf when he left this morning," Zara grumbled as she stood up from their booth and climbed out, wrapping her own Hufflepuff scarf around her neck and slipping her arms through her coat.

The boys looked at her with knowing smiles as she rushed to leave.

"I'll pay you back for the drinks later," Zara yelled out to her boys as she left through the door, the bell jingling behind her.

Peter laughed and reached into his pocket pulling out a few gold coins.

"Place your bets gentlemen, Zara's about to get her man."

Zara's boots crunched through the stiff white snow as she walked to the Shrieking Shack. A thousand thoughts were running through her mind, surprise was the most dominant with a sprinkle of annoyance towards Sirius.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid boy," She continued to grumble to herself til she made it to the Shrieking Shack. In the run there she had lost her beanie to the wind and all that remained was her black and yellow scarf that was wrapped around her face to keep some semblance of warmth in. She was glad at least that she had stuck with her last minute decision to wear her thick black coat and a cosy cream jumped underneath.

It was only when she arrived that she looked around in confusion. There was no one here.

"Sirius," She called out, wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm. It was so cold she was freezing her tits off. The wind whistled as it blew harder against her, the air seeping through her clothes and freezing her to the core. So much for the coat being a protective layer against the weather.

"I know you're out here, Sirius."

She was met with silence once again.

"Really? You're going to play this game with me?"

Zara took a seat on a nearby rock and buried her face in her hands to try and gather her thoughts. Not only was there the evidence of the amortentia from their potions lesson that she had now connected the dots to but also what Peter had said. Did he really love her?

"James says you're upset about this whole thing. I'm sorry you feel this way. It must be awful to love a mudblood like me," Zara said, believing the words herself. Maybe that's why he was so upset because his family would find out. It would explain his recent behaviour, why he had been so quiet… he was distancing himself from her. A frown settled on her face as she looked down at her hands unsure of what to do with herself. Don't cry. Don't you dare cry, she told herself.

She heard the rustling of a cape and footsteps pressing into the snow behind her.

"You're not a mudblood, Zara. Besides that's not true," Sirius said as he walked to stand in front of her. She didn't meet his gaze.

"What part?"

She held her breath.

"All of it," He clarified. "Well, apart from the fact that I love you, but it's not awful. I just- I needed some time to gather my thoughts."

"And have you had enough time?" She asked as he kneeled before her. Her eyes met his and she felt her breath catch in her throat at his heated gaze.

"Yes."

She gulped.

"And?"

"And, I love you. I'm sorry for ignoring you the past few days," Sirius said, taking her hands in his own. "I realise now that I could have approached it differently."

"You think?" She laughed, feeling relief wash over her. She still felt like she was in a dream. After all the drama and heart-ache over the last few weeks, after all the anger and harsh words here he was saying that he loved her.

He then moved and sat beside her on the rock, but his hand remained firmly joined with her own. She savoured the warmth and the fuzzy feelings growing inside her at the contact. Suddenly everything felt like it was on fire. Every look, every touch meant so much more now.

"I'm sorry I became so distant. Things haven't been the easiest in my personal life. I left home this Christmas," Sirius said, watching her eyes widen with surprise at the news. "I'm living with the Potter's now. It was a big move. My parents basically disowned me and then to top it all off I hadn't come to terms with my feelings for you, so it was just easier to ignore it til I figured things out."

"You should have come to me Sirius, I could have helped. I'm still your best friend you know that right?" He nodded and she bit her lip, now feeling guilty for biting his head off the past few weeks. She hadn't realised things had gotten this bad.

"I know. I just- I didn't tell anyone. James was the only one who really knew how bad things had gotten. I only just told Remus and Peter that I moved out of home," He explained.

"Are you alright?"

"Better than I thought I would be. I feel free," Sirius said, a smile forming on his lips. "It just took me some time to get over the fact that I have twats for parents and realise that they would never accept me. Even if I was the perfect child, they'd never give me the love I wanted."

"If I'm being honest I'm relieved that you left, they were abusive. You deserve better."

She could remember all the times Sirius had come to her upset or crying about his home life. It was rare for him to show that vulnerable side of him but he had always been open with her about it. She was glad he had escaped the perpetual cycle of abuse that his pureblood parents showered him with whenever he was home and even whilst he was at Hogwarts through snide comments in letters and their disappearance for anything remotely resembling what loving parents would do.

He pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. "I know."

"So, do you forgive me for being a total arse these last couple of weeks?" Sirius asked, giving her his signature puppy dog eyes that he knew she couldn't resist.

"You're forgiven," She smiled and he brushed a hand through her dark hair, pushing a strand behind her ear. Her skin felt alit as his hands brushed against her cheek. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She melted into his touch, responding with equal passion. Her insides felt like they were on fire, her heart beating that bit faster as Sirius inclined his head, holding onto her tighter as he kissed her once more.

She pulled away first, breathing heavily as he leaned his forehead against hers. She had a feeling he was thinking the same thing. Finally.

She couldn't contain a smile from appearing on her lips. If there was one word she could use to describe this moment it would be content.

"Helga, that was good."

"A snog was all it took to make things right? Huh, should have done that earlier."

"Damn right you should have."

Laughter escaped both of their chests and Zara pulled Sirius into a tight hug, burying her face in the crook of his neck. His warm musky scent was relaxing and she felt like she could stay in the comfort of his arms forever.

"Never ignore me for that long again."

"Never. I promise."

He pressed a kiss behind her ear, tightening his arms around her back as he too enjoyed the moment.

"Want to go back inside?"

"I thought you'd never ask. I'm freezing my arse off out here."

He grinned and held his hand out to her, tugging her in the direction of the Shrieking Shack. "I know of a few ways back." He winked and her heart soared in her chest.

They laughed practically the entire way back with red cheeks and warm hearts, ignoring the knowing looks that their friends gave them as they made their way back to the Three Broomsticks, sitting down next to each other hand in hand.

When Sirius smiled over at her with warmth in his eyes all she could think about was that she would endure those hard times over a hundred times again if it lead to this moment.

Because if there was one thing that came out of all of this, it was that she loved Sirius Black more than she loved anything else before.

Everything was right as rain and she couldn't be more grateful.

Authors Note:

Sirius Black deserved better… I'm in such a Sirius mood/feels moment right now.

I really hope that this was an enjoyable read. I'm focusing on another story at the moment but I would love to write a multi-chapter Sirius Black x OC in the future, or perhaps even a Remus x OC in the future… we'll see. Maybe I'll take it slow and start off with a small multi-chapter series rather than something huge.

Anyway, please leave a review and let me know your thoughts.

3

Til next time.

Heroherondale.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters associated with the HP franchise. All rights belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own my own OC and creative genius.