Author notes:
This started off as a writing exercise that has gotten out of hand. I need practice for RPing specifically, so stories aren't my forte. I write to write, but I'm going to attempt use structure and plot rather than just utilizing tons of unresolved sexual tension and sexy times. If you're here for the latter, chapters three and four (proof-reading, will be up soon) are where things start moving in that direction.
If my original character is as cringe-worthy as most, please accept my humble apologies. Also, I apologize in advance for using the phrase 'Great but terrible things' when Mary-Sue'ing it up. And for using so many commas.
Obligatory comment that I do not own anything in the HP Universe. Lilith Maven and Xander are my own. Enjoy, and please offer constructive criticism!
Lilith scowled with pale green eyes through her long, dark lashes. Glossy brown hair tumbled past her shoulders in loose curls, her fresh cream-colored skin tinging a rosy pink at the cheeks in embarrassment. The Mavens were wrought with Slytherins, powerful and cunning, an old Pureblood family to rival the Blacks and Malfoys…and here she sat, in the Black's manse no less, internally seething as her vision raked across the judging expressions of "the Order" milling around her. Her back was ramrod straight, shoulders pulled back so her well-rounded chest puffed out, her hands folded in her lap and legs crossed at the ankle. The act of propriety would stand until she was released from the confines of this dingy arm chair.
Only when she heard a deep, familiar voice did she start. Her head swiveled into the direction of the door that was creaking open, her fierce expression falling and becoming borderline pleading. She locked eyes with her guardian, and he gave her a hard look back. Lilith's heart thudded in her chest…he was lithe, tall, with long black hair tied at the nape of his neck but falling well past the length of her own. His grey eyes bored into hers, a silent 'no' to the protests that hadn't even come to mind yet. He wasn't much older than she - graduated, yes, and hand-picked by her family before their untimely death to guide her. Was this some sort of utter betrayal? Or perhaps she did a poor job hiding her feelings around him? Maybe he finally found her a burden.
She rose from the chair that attempted to swallow her whole with a lack of structured cushions. Lilith smoothed out the wrinkles in her robes and over-the-knee skirt automatically, then worked her way up to tug at the hem of the shirt that peeked out, moved to fix her tie…she tore her eyes away from him to look down at it. Her colors, blue, outlined in metallic bronze. She was not donning green in her final year of Hogwarts, or any other year there, unlike Xander and unlike the lineage she hailed from. The Slytherin-way was so much a part of her life in her home, she often forgot whenever she was away from school that the Sorting Hat had choice words regarding the legacy she'd leave in Slytherin. 'Great, but terrible things.' What child wouldn't beg to be sorted into his other offer? But Ravenclaw wasn't so bad…Ravenclaw didn't mean she was incapable of being cunning. She had come to be proud of her house, even if her parents had thought any other than theirs was second-rate.
She wasn't cunning enough to worm her way out of this. She was destined to stay here over the summer. Grimmuald Place? It was so…lived in. She suspected Xander felt she couldn't be trusted on her own, not even with a fleet of house elves to care for her. Why did she ever admit to him when 'they' approached her? Lilith looked like a delicate thing to the Death Eaters despite her prestigious last name. She had managed to turn them down without making offense; she could find another way when they asked again. She was playing the scene over in her mind, watching the expression of horror run across Xander's face when she confided in him, seeing him stride to his desk and write a letter in haste.
It was that moment when Headmaster Albus Dumbledore crossed the threshold of the meeting room they were in, his eyes twinkling and brandishing a smile as kind as ever. She merely pouted when she would have rather snarled…but it was difficult to find a justifiable reason to ever be angry at the old man. She'd never call him an 'old fool.' Anyone with their wits about them could see the man was a genius behind all the madness. So she rounded on her guardian instead, speaking in a whisper - though there was no doubt the room was quiet enough to overhear. "I…I can't stay here. Must you go? Must you volunteer yourself like this?" she wrung her hands nervously, now very much aware of the eyes on her. "You're all I have left now," she was underhanded with the guilt it'd lay upon him, but she was shameless, desperate. She knew no one here, save for her Professors and the handful of students almost all in years below herself. Even in the hour she'd been here, so many strangers came in and out. She didn't want to be dragged onto the one side, so now she must be dragged into the other? How was it any better, any safer? She had no qualms with the muggles, but her sense of self-preservation was strong. She was sure the Gryffindors in the room would have been ruffled at the thought if they could hear her mind.
His hand was warmer than he looked - his demeanor was cold, but his palm cupped her cheek affectionately. All the fight in her drained away. She could see it in his eyes - he had truly decided, and she'd never convince him otherwise. She wouldn't see the marble walls and polished hardwood floors of her home again until, what, Christmas? What if he wasn't back by then? 'Running errands for this band of has-beens and middle-aged l-..' she felt a twinge of dull pain in her head, and it interrupted her thoughts. Beyond her notice or anyone else's, Snape and Dumbledore shared a meaningful look. She blinked the pain away, shaking her head to snap out of the distraction.
Xander took the brief pause in her pleading to speak, "It is settled. The elves have prepared a room for you upstairs…this is a necessity, Lilith" he said, guiding her face with his hands so their eyes met once more. Her shoulders sagged, and she bit at her lower lip, worrying it lightly with a small nod of defeat. He pressed his lips to her forehead before retreating toward the door with a whispered promise he'd write as soon as he was able. The man was terrible at goodbyes for someone so formal; perhaps he sensed her being on the verge of tears. She was grateful for that. Even Gryffindors could turn into circling wolves at the sight of fear. Lilith sighed as she stared after him, only looking away once the door clicked behind him and his footfalls on the porch faded; he'd have to find his way back onto the street before he would apparate away.
Lilith turned back to the gaggle of Order members that had resumed their own quiet conversations or appeared to be busying themselves with material found throughout the front room. She already felt invisible in the din, until she felt a set of eyes upon her. Her gaze went searching…and found a new pair of grey irises to look into. Sirius Black was watching her with his lips pressed into a firm line, an unpleasant expression on his face. "Ah, yes, Sirius. Would you be so kind as to show Miss Lilith to her accommodations?" Dumbledore asked genially as he noted the inkling of tension growing between their gaze. Sirius looked like nothing would please him less.
Clearly, if she was content to play the ungrateful guest, he'd happily take the role of the ungracious host. But he rose from the tattered couch and closed the gap between them - no, no, walked straight past her toward the stairs wordlessly. So much for formal introductions. Lilith turned on her heel and followed silently, trailing behind him as they ascended the stairs. Everyone seemed to be piled into the first floor, so by the time they reached the third landing it was quite clear they were alone. Neither made small-talk on the way up. He paused in front of a bedroom just long enough to turn the door knob and swing the door into the room. She peered in, and wasn't utterly disappointed…it was large, and there were only two other rooms on this particular wing of the floor. Her luggage was stacked neatly, a pile of books making a pyramid atop them. She took a quick mental inventory - the elves knew some of her favorites - and briefly wondered if the Granger girl had any books worth swapping for the summer.
She was pulled out of the first amiable thought of the day when he cleared his throat. Lilith turned back around to face him, seeing him leaning on the frame at the threshold of the door. "Yes?" she asked simply, her brows raising at his sudden interest to stick around.
"You could seem less eager to leave our protection" he responded flatly, looking her up and down unceremoniously. Lilith bristled, standing up straighter and tilting her chin up, "I am not some little flower living in fear of being trampled on. I've taken care of myself with their advances thus far…do you all truly think they'll escalate so much just before I'm whisked away back to school?" She sounded exasperated, as if she'd argued her side numerous times before they arrived on Sirius' doorstep. "It's precisely what they think. You'd be able to speak to the younger, more impressionable students to their favor. You'd be able to notice when your Professors are missing, away on Order business." Her chin lowered as he spoke to her, her full lips pouting now.
She knew it to be true, but she was so stubborn. "I know I must seem a fool…" she lamented, her gaze leaving his, trailing off with her thought unfinished. Her right hand twitched, bending forward at the wrist to allow her wand to drop from the forearm of her sleeve into her grasp. She inspected it rather than meet his eyes now; willow, dragon heart string, 11 ¾ inches, pliable-excellent for use in the advanced non-verbal magic she excelled in, which is why she was content to leave it up her sleeve. Sirius watched her with narrowed eyes, and she squirmed under his gaze. He must be suspicious of her - was it her reluctance, or her family history? The latter would be comical, given he was the only one in his family to not go Slytherin much like herself.
Her amusement at the thought quickly turned to annoyance, she shoved her wand into her pocket hastily. Her gaze was still downcast, moving across the floor and only rising when she was looking over her shoulder to eye the pile of luggage. "Have you set it upon yourself to keep an eye on me, then?" she asked without seeing him. "Like I've got nothing better to do?" his voice was thick with sarcasm, but it was already explained to her that he was disallowed from leaving his own home. He was still a fugitive, and it was too risky. "It never hurts to admit so. I hope you enjoy watching me unpack. And read. And sulk." she responded with a bit of venom in her tone, but her face was now a mask of serenity. She turned her head to look back at him, her expression neutral upon her lovely face. Sirius tsked in irritation, stepping back until his shoulders met the wall in the hall. He leaned against it and folded his arms across his chest, broodingly watching, perhaps just to spite her.
She unpacked in silence, not giving him the satisfaction of a second look through the wide-open door. Once her robes and plainclothes were tucked away and her books were neatly arranged in towers on her nightstand, she began pulling trinkets, jewelry, and perfumes from a small but ornate wooden chest that sat on the dresser. It obviously had a spell upon it, and sometimes she'd reach in past her elbow to gather her wares. Once her brushes and other necessities were laid out, she stopped and gazed into the mirror at herself. She looked beautiful, even when she felt tired and defeated, but that is not what she noted. Her eyes flicked past her own reflection, finally looking to the image of Sirius still ruminating outside her bedroom. He hadn't moved an inch, not even when she decided to waste as much of his time as possible by blatantly refusing to unpack with magical means. She was growing more and more irritated with his presence.
"Why should I be grateful to be trapped in here like you?" she finally asked, as the question had been grating on her in the silence that preceded it. She turned around and moved toward her bed, shrugging out of the fine robes she wore over her attire. Lilith adjusted her angle, now facing him as she folded her robes neatly onto the corner of the mattress. The wand poked through the top of the pocket at the very told of her fold, so she removed it. Her gaze finally met his once more, and he was still sullenly mulling over the question in his mind.
With her free hand, she pulled at one of the ends of the blue bow neck tie to undo it. Her fingertips moved to begin deftly unbuttoning her crisp white collared shirt, but her gaze was still upon him. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head, making her chuckle, a coy smile turning up the corners of her rosy lips. "Have I struck a nerve?" she asked, knowing very well that wasn't what he was reacting to. He straightened from his spot on the wall, having regained control over his features, clearly having something smooth or witty to say in response when the door swung shut inches from his face. Her wand was angled toward the door, other hand still unfastening buttons.
Lilith's non-verbal magic skills were advanced for even most adults; that smile turned to a smirk, quite pleased with her perfectly timed opportunity to show off. Another flick of her wrist was made as she attempted to lock the door as well, but found there was resistance…her other hand fell, focusing harder with another attempt, the lock creaking in protest. It wasn't physical, but magical. His wand wasn't out, so…it must be the house? She blinked, gazing around the room. She couldn't recall ever attempting to lock a door in the face of her father at their manse. Ancient houses like these lived and breathed, so to speak - and apparently she would not be allowed to bar the master of a manse from entry in his own home. She heard a snort of laughter from the other side of the door before he walked away. Lilith seethed.