"Wake up." Someone kicked me in the side.
"What?" I snapped, angry about my sleep being disturbed.
"Ladden, right?" I looked up to see Black, the Slytherin one.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded as I sat up.
"I could ask you the same." A smirk formed on his lips and I cringed at how similar it was to Sirius'. "People normally don't fall asleep in the corridor, but then I don't spend much time around Gryffindors."
"What do you mean?" He waved his hand, showing off the scenery. It was, indeed, a corridor and one I wasn't too familiar with at that. "Where am I?"
"Not far from the Slytherin Common Room."
I lifted myself off the floor, taking in my surroundings as well as the younger Black. They were similar in many ways, though Regulus was smaller. His shoulders weren't as broad and he hadn't entirely lost his boyish looks; something Sirius outgrew at fourteen. They were only two years apart yet Regulus could almost be mistaken for a third year while Sirius could pass for twenty. I suddenly pictured Sirius teasing his little brother for looking like a kid while giving him tips for picking up girls. I shook my head. Only in a different world.
"Well, could you point me in the direction of the Tower?" I asked, focusing on the situation. He pointed to the hall on his left and I made to leave "Thanks."
"Wait." His voice was as halting as Sirius's.
"Umm, yeah?" I asked starting to become a bit apprehensive of him. He was a Black after all.
He grabbed something out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment. "I wasn't going to give this back to you, but I guess there's a reason you have it, so here." He thrust the object into my hand. "It was lying beside you."
Bewildered, I stared at it. It was a piece of parchment folded perfectly into a tiny envelope. I had no idea what it was and I really didn't want to open it and be surprised with the man who was going to steal it right in front of me. "Uhh, thanks, Black. I appreciate it." He nodded and trudged back to wherever he had come from. Once I knew he was gone I opened it.
A fine gold chain with a small pendant fell into my hand. The paper had nothing on it, but I kept hold of it anyways. I looked over the necklace, wondering where it had come from. The pendant was actually a small rose gold locket with a black diamond covering much of the front. I opened it, but nothing was inside. On the back there was an engraving of some kind, but it was in some other language. Not knowing what else to do I slipped the necklace back into the envelope and kept a tight hold on it.
Lovely, something else to take up space in my brain trying to figure it out. At least I knew Lily would be able to figure out the writing, that was a plus. Unfortunately, I still needed to figure out how I ended up there in the first place.
I tried to remember, but my mind was foggy and I couldn't make sense of anything. What happened last night? I groaned.
"I really hope I didn't do anything with Nyk last night. What if I did? What if I wasn't even with him? Oh Merlin, what if I went off with Black?" My head was flooded with all of the ridiculous possibilities running through my mind. "What if I did go off with Black? Wait, what if I went off with Regulus? How else would I end up here?"
I froze when I heard someone clear their throat. "Tell me, Princess, how many times do I need to remind you that people will question your sanity if they find you rambling on to yourself?" A somewhat disheveled Sirius came up beside me and took my hand. "It's alright though; I actually admire you for it. It makes you that much more intriguing. Perhaps I should give it a try some time." He grinned at me.
"Are you stalking me or something?" I blurted out, annoyed and flustered.
He shook his head. "Not currently. I do believe you're next on my list, though." I glared at him. "Now, love, what were you rambling on about?" He smiled sweetly to me as if he really cared.
"None of your business," I retorted, gripping the necklace in my other hand tighter.
"Oh, really? I think it is my business since my brother and I were both mentioned." He grabbed my other hand.
"It's nothing. I can talk to myself about whomever I want." I regretted the words once they came out. I really needed to stop making myself look like a complete loon.
"Hmm, I don't think it's nothing, but I'll leave you to deal with it." Despite the grip I had on the envelope, he managed to pry my fingers open. He grabbed it and looked it over, pulling out the locket, examining it. "Where'd you get this?"
I shrugged my shoulders and quickly tried to grasp it, but he pulled it away from me.
"Wow, Princess, someone must be serious about you." He carefully slid the locket into the envelope and gave it back to me. "Do you like it?" he asked.
I looked at him for a moment. If I didn't know better I would say that he was anxious. "I don't even know if it's for me. It's pretty, but I wouldn't feel right wearing it."
"Oh," he said, seeming a little disappointed.
We stood there in an awkward silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Well, I hope you get it all figured out." Without waiting for me to say anything, he turned around and headed in the other direction.
Why was he acting so strangely? I shook my head and continued back to my dorm. I knew Carrie and Lily could help me decipher everything.
"Nienna, there you are. We've been so worried. Where have you been?" Lily began, immediately showing her motherly side.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know what happened last night." For once I wasn't bothered by her over-protectiveness. She flung her arms around me and squeezed tight. "Lily…can't breathe!" I gasped and she quickly let go.
"Sorry, I've just been so worried."
"We all have," Care announced as she walked out of the bathroom. "What happened to you last night?"
"I don't know." We all congregated on my bed like usual. I never understood why my bed was used as the meeting place, but I didn't fight it. "All I know is I was woken up by the other Black. I was asleep in the corridor by Slytherin. I don't remember anything else. I can't remember leaving the Common Room or being with anyone."
"Well, we know what you did while you were here and who you left with, but I'm not sure that you want to hear it," Lily said. She had grabbed her blue pillow and held it close to her.
"Of course I want to know."
"No, Nen, I don't think you do."
Carrie frowned at me before turning to Lily. "She needs to know." After a moment of heavy silence Lily agreed. They both turned to me, making me squirm with nervous anticipation. "Now, we don't know what happened after you left. We just know who you left with."
"Go on," I pleaded. My mind was racing again and my breathing was slightly labored.
"Nienna, we're only telling you this because you have the right to know. We don't hold anything against you for doing it because we know that you weren't yourself last night," Lily began. The look on her face almost killed me, it was just too pitiful.
"You left the Tower at about midnight. You, well, you weren't yourself. It was like someone had possessed you. The way you were throwing yourself at Duritz, no one understood it. He didn't mind of course. He even convinced you to leave with him." Carrie was trying to put the situation as lightly as possible, but I feared the ending more and more.
"So I left with Nykolas?"
"Yeah, but you came back not long afterward," Carrie continued. "Then you left again."
"By myself?"
They looked at each other again before Lily began to speak. "You weren't the only one acting crazy last night. The way he kept staring at you, even when he was with others. The later it became the more intense he was. He was angry. He couldn't stand looking at you with Nykolas."
"Remember, we would have stopped you if that had been an option," Carrie added.
By now I was close to ripping out my hair from the anticipation. "C'mon, just tell me already." Lily took in a deep sigh.
"You left with Black."
I stared at my friends. How could that be right? I would never have gone anywhere with him, especially not on Halloween. "What do you mean I left with him?"
Carrie shrugged. "Like we said, we don't know what happened after the two of you left, we just know you were with him."
"I saw him this morning after the rude awakening his little brother gave me. He never said anything about being with me last night." I paused, trying to remember anything. Then I did. "Wait, I remember that he specifically told me that he fancied you Care and he went off to talk to you."
It was her turn to be shocked. "Umm, he talked to me, but it was just like always. Besides, he didn't pay attention to me; he had his eyes on you."
I shook my head. "That can't be. I would never have left with him in a million years. I learned my lesson two years ago!" Besides Sirius and myself, my two best friends were the only other people who knew about the incident in fifth year.
"You weren't yourself last night. Besides, you must not have gone anywhere with him. Regulus found you. I'm sure you ditched him and just wound up getting yourself lost and passed out somewhere. This is you we're talking about." I could tell Carrie was trying her best to make light of the situation.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Lily readily agreed. I didn't know what to think. He hadn't mentioned anything, but maybe he didn't remember either. Then again, why was he down in that part of the castle?
I stuck out my hand then, showing them the envelope with the locket. "Regulus found this lying beside me."
Lily grabbed it and looked it over, magnifying the words with her wand so she could see the inscription. "It's in French, I think. I saw a French dictionary in the library once. We can check it out later." She handed it to Carrie. "Do you know where it came from?"
"I don't know. Regulus found it lying next to me. He originally pocketed it, but changed his mind and gave it back."
"This necklace must have cost a fortune and you don't know who gave it to you? Merlin, I'd hate to be your boyfriend," Carrie said.
I threw a pillow at her and she started laughing. Lily grabbed the locket back and put in the top drawer of my nightstand. "You should talk to Sirius again. This time with us around so we can help piece together what happened last night. Then we can borrow the French book."
I nodded as Carrie threw the pillow back at me. Before I could toss it back, Lily grabbed it. "We're leaving to talk to him now, girls."
Both of us groaned and whined about how Lily was too much like another mother. She ignored us.
After a quick change of clothes, and unfortunately no shower, the three of us headed off to find the one person I liked to avoid the most. Carrie was trying to keep the mood as light as possible, but with every step my mood seemed to darken. I groaned inwardly. Why did that stupid git have to keep coming up in my life?
