"I'd rather you didn't spend so much time with him, if it's all the same to you."
She jumps, startled, his voice coming from the shadows, wrapping like ribbons around and up her spine, causing the fine hairs on her arms to stand on end. She recovers quickly enough.
"I don't know what you mean," she states haughtily.
"You know bloody well." He steps from the darkness, the light casting his stunning features into beautiful relief.
"Sirius, I'm not in the mood," She sighs wearily, "Flitwick's just given an extra foot of homework at the last minute and I've still got patrolling to do."
"Oh, it'll only take a minute. The concept is a simple one, really. Even you should be able to accomplish it. I only ask that you stay away from James."
His request catches her off-guard, as does his hostile nature.
"How could I possibly do that? We share a dorm, you twat."
Her retort puts him off. She sees the light in his eyes change quickly from warning to downright accusatory.
"Don't play coy; it doesn't suit you in the slightest. You know exactly the hold you have over him, and it's bloody embarrassing how he lets you treat him, not to mention they way you've been fawning over him lately."
She has the grace to blush, despite her annoyance at the turn in conversation. She had recently (finally) admitted to herself that she was not completely impervious to James' charms, yet their relationship had stalled in the 'friend' zone. Purposefully, she might add. Her recent messy break-up from long-term boyfriend Marcus Davies was still a gaping sore, one that she was ashamed to admit was being healed slowly by James' increased attentions.
"Fawning? I'd hardly call it fawning Sirius. We've become friends, of a sort."
He snorts derisively, "Friends my arse. For some reason unbeknownst to me, James thinks you're the 'only bird for him.'" He has the nerve to use his fingers to air-quote himself, the berk. "Can't for the life of me figure out why. But there you have it. And frankly, I'm through with you treating him like last year's Prophet."
"Where do you get off?" Her earlier blush has reached a startling shade of red, anger replacing her irritation and steadily reaching an all-time-high.
"How is it that you're hocked off at me for becoming chummy with your mate when you claim that's exactly what he's wanted since, what, third year?" I'm not being cocky, she thinks. James has made his affections and intentions perfectly clear since day one.
"Chummy? That's what you call it? Merlin, Evans, you're even more blind than I thought."
"Yes. Chummy, friendly, cordial, call it what you like. James and I are friends, nothing more. And I'd say that's a vast improvement, since two years ago I could barely stand the sight of him."
She moves to sit by the fire, already exhausted from his interrogation and her resulting anger, and conjures a steaming cup of tea.
"And how long does this continue, Evans? How long do you remain 'friends' before he begins to want more?" Again with the hand gesture. Her irritation is piqued.
Her head snaps up, "I..I don't…" Can I admit to enjoying his attentions despite wanting nothing more from him? The though crosses her mind before she can squash it.
"Right. Hadn't thought of that, had you?"
She supposes she hasn't.
"Well I'm sure I'll be there to pick up the pieces, which is why I adhere to my earlier suggestion that you stay the fuck away from my mate."
His voice has gone cold, malicious, his earlier banter gone.
She senses where this is going. "That's not fair. It's not my fault I don't feel that-"
"Fair. Fair? What's not fair is how despicably you treat him," he spits angrily.
"I thought we'd addressed that-"
"Yes, yes. We know, Evans, you're chummy," She finds satisfaction in the fact that Sirius Black's famously unending patience is beginning to wear thin on her account. "What I mean is that you'll give him false hope before tearing the rug from under him. I've seen the way you flirt with him."
"Flirt with him?" She cries in outrage, "What are you…"
"I told you, don't bullshit me Evans, because I can see right through you. I know what you haven't even realized yourself."
"And what's that?" She asks hotly.
"That you are a selfish, hypocritical prig, too self-righteous for your own good. You can't even see what's right in front of you."
"How dare y-"
"And do you know what's worse?" He sneers, "You need him."
She gapes at him.
"Oh, don't look at me like that Evans, you heard me. You won't admit it but I know. You need him to be there to stroke your own ego and you know it. All this time you've berated him, 'Deflate your head, Potter!', 'You're a conceited toe rag, Potter!'" he finishes his speech in a high falsetto, startlingly accurate to her own accusatory tone, before beginning again.
"And all this time you've been sucking the life out of him for your own vanity. What's it feel like to be the only girl the mighty James Potter pines after? Pretty good, I'd wager."
She keeps her gaze down, her face burning.
"You strut around just as much as he does, stuck-up, hypocritical, judging others instantly. You're worse than he is, or was, since he's changed for you. Yet, you can't even see that, can you? How far he'd bend over backwards for you, while you sit there barely sparing him a second glance, all the while pouring your heart out to him over that fuck-wit Davies."
"Sirius…" Her eyes are burning, the backs of her eyelids prickling from the pressure of the tears vying for freedom. But his rant continues.
"And you'll bleed him dry Evans. You'll take every last drop to feed you're insatiable insecurity and then drop him like the fucking selfish bitch you are." His breathing is fast and harsh, his fury palpable.
"The instant he gets too close, too comfortable for your liking, it'll be, 'Oh, James! It's been such fun being friends and all, but now that I've used up all your affection and attention for my own unending selfish vanity, now that I've given you all the flirty smiles I can afford you, now that I've used you to recover from my nasty break-up, I'll just skip off and find a new bloke to treat me like the heartless slag I am and leave you with nothing but a broken heart'. You'll shatter him Evans, and I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
His high pitched imitation of her voice rises steadily before ending in a roaring crescendo, deafening in its ferocity and causing her tea cup to shatter spectacularly. She hiccups softly from her chair while staring at the place where her cup had been. He strides toward her, leaning dangerously close to her ear.
"Do I make myself clear?" He whispers.
He doesn't wait for her reply, instead turning on his heel and making his way towards the door.
In true Sirius fashion he turns, "I'm glad we had time for this little chat Evans. Ta!" He affords her a jaunty grin before departing.
Lily remains unmoving from her place while her tears run unchecked down her cheeks. Her gaze settles on the droplets of tea that cling to the table, watching in fascination as they gravitate towards each other; the progression from solitary beads of moisture, to long streams of traveling liquid that stretch to reach the edge of the table to finally teeter precariously before falling gloriously to the floor. She is lulled by the rhythmic noise. Splat. Splat. Splat. She sits for many long moments before blinking from her daze and drying her eyes. She stares determinedly at the mess before rushing to clean it away.