Your Protector
oOo
"Fuck you!"
The foul, Muggle cuss falls from Sirius' lips even before he knows it. Seething, he glares up at the older Gryffindor students as he wipes the blood from his split lip. The one time he's away from James, his new friend, and this happens. Sirius knows, as if his mother's Howler hadn't told him as clear as the Sorting Hat did, that he's not accepted in Gryffindor when he's supposed to be in Slytherin.
He knows that every Gryffindor but a select few he's befriended hates him and his Slytherin core that's hiding beneath the skin of a lion. He just didn't think they'd have the guts to do anything about it. He's pretty sure bullying is not allowed in Hogwarts, Slytherin families or not.
Sirius' hand creeps to his wand, clenching the slim wood tightly even though he knows his chances against these assholes are less than ten percent. He knows spells, yes, but pretty much all of them are harmless before older and more experienced students such as these sixth and seventh years.
Sirius wishes, briefly before he stamps the weak thought out, that he has someone there for him. Perhaps brave James, reasonable Remus, or even that shy Peter. James would've given Sirius confidence and even though they'd get in trouble later, they would've taken the older students in a flat-out duel; Remus probably would've bored the rest of them stupid that they'd lose interest; and Peter would probably have given Sirius a reason to run for it and come out of the ordeal no less a hero.
But they're not there. And neither is she.
It's stupid, very much so and Sirius curses himself internally when he thinks of the last someone he'd rather have by his side. She is not going to come save your ass anymore, Black, wake up, he chides himself. His older cousin hates his guts now, just for being Sorted into Gryffindor. Even the rest of his nicer cousins and younger brother skirts around him like he's an atomic bomb (some sort of Muggle-made stuff that sounds cool because it's very dangerous).
When the older student draws his wand, Sirius whips out his wand, lightning-quick like she's taught him to, and fires off a Tickling Charm.
He ducks as a jinx's sent flying his way. Sirius silently marvels at how slow and weak the jinx is, she would've hit her target and made them feel pain even if the spells're meant to be harmless.
Even though he's supposed to be paying attention, Sirius suddenly finds himself thrown down memory lane. When he's eight and that stupid git Lucius Malfoy had tried to jinx Sirius just because the younger boy is stating the obvious: that Blacks are superior and way better than any stinking Malfoy.
That is, after seeing how much of a prat Lucius, one of the very few things Sirius finds himself agreeing with his mother.
But that's beside the point. The point of the memory is that someone came to save Sirius from Lucius and his lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle.
It's not his favorite cousin Andromeda who could've also sent Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle flying. It's not Regulus who'd probably run like the wind when he sees Crabbe and Goyle's bulging muscles—heck, Sirius is the one doing the protecting when little Reg is being bullied. It's definitely not Narcissa who prefers to avoid conflict and getting her pretty face hurt.
It's Bellatrix. Mean, beautiful and passionate Bella who's always teasing Sirius (and Regulus and Narcissa and everyone else because she thinks she's just that much better) because he's the so-called baby of the family (that's Reg). She comes, wand out and a hex falling from her ruby-red lips, eyes flashing dangerously, a warning to stay far, far away from her baby cousin following pretty quickly after the one-sided duel where the three boys learn how it feels like to get their asses kicked.
And even though she gets a warning letter from Hogwarts and a scolding from her father later that evening, Bella doesn't regret it. She even takes him aside instead of getting angry at him like she usually does, peeling a Chocolate Frog and offers it to him—looking back on it, she might be aspiring to poison him instead of trying to make him feel better than himself because she thinks you can't get any lamer if you need a girl to save your ass.
Sirius is beyond surprised when he sees the grin on her lips.
"Are you crazy?" he demands. "If you do that again, they'll expel you and you'll never be a witch!"
Bella sneers at him. "So who's going to protect baby Sirius if big, strong Bella isn't there?"
"I can protect myself!" retorts Sirius angrily, hotly.
"Yeah, but things will get tough—when you're cornered, don't come crying to me because I am not going to save you anymore after this you ungrateful baby!" She yells the last part loudly as he's already storming away. He hates being babied, he hates being treated like he's weak.
Sirius is forcefully pulled out of dreamland when a Stinging Hex hits his face. He yells in pain, falling onto his bum, hand reaching up to rub where the welt is already forming. He raises his hands to protect himself from the advancing students when a familiar voice cry, "Expelliarmus!"
Sirius turns, his heart thudding, all the pain on his face forgotten.
Bellatrix, who's in her final year and really should've known better with all the detention days she'd already accumulated, snorts as the Gryffindors flee from the female Slytherin. She sees him watching and raises a disdainful nose.
"Well, are you coming? You need to see Madam Pomfrey, baby."
Yelling in indignation, Sirius scrambles to his feet, running after his older cousin, who, even if she'll never admit it, will always be his protector. Somehow, Sirius doesn't mind that thought so much and his lips are actually twitching into a smile at the thought that he and Bella will be together, forever watching one another's back in duels and anything coming their way.
Hey, why did you come in the end?
'Coz I'm your protector, brat.
oOo
How ironic that the one who strikes him down is his so-called protector.