Here is the next chapter . . . hope you like it and let me know what you think :)
I'm walking around Hogsmeade with Sirius and the streets are crowded with couples in love. Some are snogging and some are just holding hands. Both are disgusting. I roll my eyes and continue to trudge through the snow. We just left Zonko's- we spent a good two hours in there. I wasn't too happy about going in there at first, but once I was inside I couldn't leave. I had never seen half of the things in the shop. Sirius had to drag me out.
We pass by Honeydukes and note that it isn't as crowded as usual.
"Can we go in?" I ask Sirius.
"You don't have to ask Jade," Sirius says, opening the door for me.
"Thank you."
I walk around, examining each product. They have tons of chocolate, my favourite, but they also have an assortment of other things that I would never touch. For example, Cockroach Clusters, Jelly Slugs, and Blood Pops. I buy Droobles Best Blowing Gum, and a few bars of chocolate. Sirius only buys Fizzing Whizbees.
"Hmm, where to now?" Sirius muses.
"We could go to the Three Broomsticks," I say.
He doesn't appear to have heard me. He has this excited glint in his eyes. "Let's go to the Shrieking Shack!"
"The Shrieking Shack? Are you mad?"
"No, come on, it'll be great. You've never seen it right?"
"Right, because no one in their right mind would go there. It's haunted!"
"Nah, I doubt it. Let's go," he starts walking off and I'm forced to follow.
It's cold and snowing by the time we reach it, and the house looks more foreboding than ever. "Ah, wow, I've seen it so now let's go."
"No, you have to see it from the inside," he says.
From the inside? "No. Not a chance. Forget it."
"Come on Jade, live a little! Nothing will happen."
"No, this is completely foolish. Even if it isn't haunted, why would we go inside? There are probably all kinds of spiders and other bugs inside. I refuse."
"You're afraid of insects?" he smirks.
"Ugh, yes! They're disgusting!"
"Come on, you can hold on to me if you're afraid. I just want to explore," he says.
I vaguely wonder why he isn't afraid. Of course, this is Sirius Black we're talking about. "Fine," I mutter.
He takes my hand and leads me past the gate and to the back of the rickety house. "Why didn't we use the front door?" I ask.
"It doesn't open," he answers.
I don't know how he knows this, but I don't ask. He passes by the back door and opens a window instead. "Let me guess, the back door doesn't open either?"
"You guessed right. I'll help you through the window, come over here."
"I'm not going in that house first."
"Come on Jade, be brave."
"Sirius-"
"No excuses. I told you nothing will happen to you. If I weren't sure about that, I wouldn't have said it. Now come on, you first."
I release his hand grudgingly and step up to the window. He helps me through and before I know it, he's jumped in after me. I take hold of his arm.
"Jade, I know you're afraid, but I need you to let blood flow through my arm. I don't much fancy losing it."
I smile apologetically and loosen my grip. He lights the end of his wand and I follow suit. With the light, I can see that the house is in shambles. The furniture it torn and tossed everywhere, there are scratches on the walls and floor, everything is dirty and dusty . . . it's eerie.
"Sirius, can we go now, please?" I whisper, afraid of speaking any louder in the dead silence.
"Don't you want to go upstairs?" he asks with a mischievous smile on his face.
One look at the hazardous stairs gives me my answer. "No, I'm frightened enough as it is and it's getting colder."
"That would be because it started snowing," he says after glancing out of the window, "and you're starting to shiver. Ah . . . let's get going then."
We jump out of the window and I hurry to leave the Shrieking Shack. Sirius guides me towards the Three Broomsticks and once I step inside, I feel the blood returning to my extremities.
"Hey look, there are Prongs and Lily. Let's go sit with them."
"Wouldn't we be interrupting them? It is Valentine's Day."
"Nah, Moony and Anna are with them."
"Oh, I didn't see them. There are a lot of people here."
"It's always crowded here on a Hogsmeade weekend, but I'm sure you know that already."
"Yes, I have been here before."
"Right, well let's not stand around all day," he says, taking my hand and leading us through the crowded room.
"Padfoot, Jade! Come join us!" James calls out to us.
"Are we interrupting your double date?" Sirius smirks as we take a seat.
"Not at all, join us and it'll be a triple date," Lily says.
"A triple date? Let me point out two obvious things that are wrong with that Evans. First of all, a 'triple date' doesn't sound good. Second of all, Jade and I aren't on a date."
"Really? Then what are you two doing alone, in Hogsmeade, on Valentine's Day?" Anna asks.
I bury my face in my hands. I knew this was a bad idea.
"Look, you're embarrassing Jade," James laughs.
Madam Rosmerta saves me by arriving to take our order. Sirius orders us two butterbeers and she's back with them in seconds.
"Why don't you join us for a bit, Rosmerta?"
Rosmerta? They must be on good terms with her.
She looks around at the crowded room. I can see that she wants to sit with us, but she also knows she has people to attend to. "Oh, I don't know . . . "
"Ten minutes won't kill you, there are other people who can help."
"I suppose . . . but only ten minutes okay?"
"Of course."
Rosmerta turns out to be a very nice woman. We all sit around sipping our butterbeers while listening to James and Sirius tell stories and jokes. Little by little, others start gathering around our table, listening to the entertainment. Soon enough we're so crowded that I don't notice when Rosmerta leaves. Lily glances at her watch and whispers something to James. It's too loud for me to make out what she said.
"Well folks, this was fun but we should all be heading back. We're supposed to be back at the castle in ten minutes."
That disperses the crowd faster than a blast-ended skrewt ever could have. Remus, Anna, James, and Lily rise to go. I'm about to do the same thing when Sirius tugs my arm to keep me seated.
"Aren't you coming?" Remus asks.
"Nah, we're going to stay here for a bit. You go ahead without us."
James gives Sirius a warning look. "We're all supposed to be back before-"
"Since when have you been such a stickler for the rules, Prongs?"
"Since he became Head Boy," Lily interrupts. "And as Head Girl I suggest you get back before I'm forced to turn you in."
"Come on Lily, you aren't serious," I say.
"I'm sorry but rules are rules and-"
I look at Sirius in horror and see that he's grinning. "With all do respect, your Head Girl-ness, you can't punish what you don't see. You're going to leave right now so you won't be late, and you won't be any wiser to mine and Jade's whereabouts. For all you would know, Jade and I could have run ahead of you lot and made it in before you."
James gives Sirius a look that says 'don't mess with her'.
"Fine Black, fine! But if I catch you out after hours believe me you will get it!"
Sirius laughs. "Please, for the sake of future generations, don't become a professor or headmistress."
Lily storms out of the Three Broomsticks with Remus and Anna behind her.
"I'll patrol the third floor so if you take the passage you'll be safe. Here's the map just in case," James hands Sirius a piece of blank parchment before taking off after Lily.
"She takes the rules to heart, that one does," Sirius mutters after she's gone.
"I agree with her. I'm afraid of getting in trouble."
"Don't worry so much, we won't be caught."
"Is there a reason we stayed behind?"
"Not really, I just didn't want to go back yet. Do you object to this?"
After telling him I don't mind, we order another butterbeer and talk for a couple of hours until Madam Rosmerta threatens to tell Dumbledore.
"Rosy, you wouldn't do that to your favorite customer, would you?" Sirius asks, giving her the puppy dog eyes.
She doesn't let up. "I let you stay long after you were supposed to leave. I can't let you break the rules, Dumbledore and the other professors trust me to enforce the school policies. Now off you go."
Sirius stands and makes a dramatic exit. "Until next time then, my fair Rosmerta."
I look at him in disbelief, utter a quick bye to Rosmerta, and hurry along after him. "So how are we supposed to get back into the castle unnoticed?"
It's near midnight and I know the door will be locked.
"I'm a Marauder, remember?"
I roll my eyes. "Of course, why was I even worried?"
He manages to get into the Honeydukes cellar and through a trap door unnoticeable on the floor. We walk down into a tunnel and follow it until we end up in the castle. Sirius pulls out the piece of parchment, mutters something I can't hear, and examines it. I don't peer over his shoulder or ask what it is for fear of seeming nosy, but I am dead curious.
He puts the parchment in his pocket. "I'll walk you to your common room."
I follow silently, and neither of us talk until we're at the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room. I turn to him before knocking on the door and answering the question.
"Thanks for today, I had a great time." My voice, though not loud, is amplified in the silence.
"It was my pleasure, I had a great time as well," he says.
"And you're right, Valentine's Day is endurable."
"So today was only endurable? I'm insulted, Jade," he feigns hurt.
I laugh. "It was more than endurable. I thoroughly enjoyed spending today with you."
Sirius clutches at his heart. "No, it's okay, you don't have to lie."
"It's true!"
My laughter dies abruptly when the common room door opens to reveal Brad.
"Hello Brad," Sirius greets politely. I, however, don't say anything.
"Hello Sirius. You're aware that it's after hours, aren't you?"
"Yes, I was just walking Jade back," Sirius replies casually.
"She's old enough to walk herself wherever she needs to go. Now I insist you leave before I'm forced to give you a detention."
"Brad, stop being so rude," I glare.
"Detention, Miss Anderson."
I start to protest but Sirius places his hand on my arm to silence me.
"Thanks for today and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He warns me with his eyes to refrain from answering back to Brad.
"Okay, goodnight," I say glumly. Then I unexpectedly hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek before turning and walking inside the common room. I sneak a glance behind me and see Sirius smirking at a shocked Brad. I grin to myself.
The next morning, I stomp over to the Gryffindor table and fling myself on the bench across from Sirius.
"What's wrong?" he asks upon seeing my fuming face.
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. Bradley is a stupid bloody git," I answer furiously.
I grab a piece of toast and knife and aggressively spread jam on it. Sirius reaches over and places his hands over mine, stilling my motions.
"Let me do that for you before you hurt yourself," he smiles tenderly.
I cross my arms and huff while he finishes up.
"So tell me, why is Bradley a 'stupid bloody git'?" he asks. I don't miss the soft humour in his eyes.
"The idiot was serious about assigning me a detention! He got it approved by Flitwick and I'm serving it tomorrow at nine!"
Sirius chuckles. "Did you think he was kidding?"
I scowl. Nevertheless, my anger has dissipated. "Not exactly. I thought it was more of a threat than anything."
He smiles warmly again. "No, he looked put out by your display last night."
"Who says it was a display?" I wink.
Sirius plays along. "Well in that case, meet me in the broom closet in ten minutes," he whispers seductively.
"Oh wow, how long has this been going on?" Anna's voice comes from behind us.
I blush. "We were kidding," I tell the group who just arrived.
I notice Remus' knowing smile as he looks from Sirius to me. I blush more.
"Time to go Moony, Prongs, Worm," Sirius announces.
"But we haven't had breakfast!" Peter exclaims.
"That isn't my fault, you three woke up late. Besides, we have no time to waste."
James glances at his watch. "Ah, you're right. I'll see you later, love," he kisses Lily on the cheek. Remus does the same to Anna.
Love is so overrated.
"We'll see you later," Sirius waves to us girls before leaving the table.
"Bye," we respond.
Once they're out of earshot, I turn to the girls. "Okay, what's with Remus and all the smirks when he sees me and Sirius together?"
Anna rolls her eyes. "Isn't it obvious, Jade? He, like everyone else, sees the bond between you and Sirius and reckons it's only a matter of time until you start dating."
Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "How interesting that everyone seems to see this except me and Sirius."
"Denial is the first step," Mary grins.
"I give her two weeks to finally admit it," Lily grins too.
"Not going to happen," I insist. Then something catches my eye.
Sirius is standing in the doorway talking to some girl. A very pretty girl.
"Who is Sirius talking to?" I ask the group around me, not bothering to tear my gaze from them.
They turn to look at what I'm seeing. "That's a sixth year Gryffindor, Nikki."
"Oh," I say, trying to sound indifferent. "So they fancy each other?"
Nikki giggles flirtatiously at something Sirius said. I wish I could hear their conversation.
I pretend not to notice Lily's enormous smirk. "I doubt she fancies him, she was with Chris Tabb up until last week."
"They're popular among the sixth years," Mary adds.
"We don't know how Sirius feels about her though," Lily finishes answering my question. "I reckon only his closest friends would know."
"He's never mentioned her before, and I've never seen her talk to him either," I comment. Sirius says something and takes off and Nikki stares after him.
"She tends to be shy," Anna answers.
"She didn't look shy a second ago," I mutter.
"Is this jealousy I'm sensing?" Mary asks.
"No, you must be mistaken Mary," Lily interjects, "it can't be jealousy since Jade swears up and down that Sirius is only her friend and she feels nothing for him."
"I don't know Lily, it sure looks like jealousy to me," Mary says.
"Ha-ha you two, have I ever told you how hilarious you are?"
"We get it all the time," Lily grins.
"So Jealous Jade, what's on your mind?" Mary asks.
Lily and Anna burst out laughing at the nickname.
"Fine," I grumble. "If I admit that I was teeny bit jealous, will you drop the ridiculous nickname?"
"Of course sweetie," Mary says in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Well, I wouldn't say jealous is the right word. I'm just protective of my friends," I answer evasively.
"You didn't admit anything, JJ," Lily points out.
"That's perfect Lily! JJ, short for Jealous Jade!" Mary exclaims.
I roll my eyes. "Oh joy."
After we finish breakfast, we go out on the grounds. Even though it's frosty, we spend most of the day outdoors- just us girls. The boys don't show up at lunch so we spend the afternoon together too, though we spend it inside the castle. Shockingly enough, Brianna and Ashley join us for an hour or so.
"Are we interrupting anything?" Ashley asks when they near us.
"No," Lily tells them. "Take a seat and join us. Jade was just telling us about Brad giving her detention."
We're in a narrow, empty corridor on the fourth floor. The girls take a seat on the wall opposite us, next to Anna. "Ah, we heard about that," Brianna says. "Samantha and Nathalie were talking about it in the common room this morning."
"What were they saying?" Mary asks.
"Nathalie was just complaining about how upset Brad was last night when he saw you kiss Black. She feels Brad shouldn't care because he's with her now."
"You kissed Sirius?!" Mary and Lily shriek.
"No! I did not! I just hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek to get Brad mad! That's it! I swear!"
Everyone laughs at my expense.
"What's so wrong about kissing Black?" Ashley asks.
"That's what I was wondering, it isn't as if he's ugly," Brianna says.
When they put it that way, I wonder why I spend so much time and energy denying it. It wouldn't be terrible if it were true. "Because we aren't seeing each other," I offer lamely.
"She wishes they were though," Mary tells Brianna and Ashley.
"I do not!"
"I thought they were until right now," Brianna says.
"Everyone does. They might as well because they fancy each other," Lily says.
"I knew it!" Ashley says.
"You did not because it isn't true," I snap.
"Aww, don't get mad JJ! We're just teasing!"
"Sure you are," I grumble.
We spend about another hour talking until we notice the time. Ashley and Brianna head to our common room and I go with the girls to the Gryffindor common room- I don't want to go to mine yet. We find James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter already seated in armchairs near the fire.
"How was your day?" James asks Lily after giving her a small peck on the lips.
"It was great, we had a lot of fun teasing JJ over there," she grins widely, motioning to me.
"JJ? Jade doesn't have a middle name," Sirius says, trying to figure out the meaning in my new name.
"Oh, JJ stands for-" Mary begins but is cut off by Anna.
"Look, Tyler just came in with Tiffany, and she looks like she's crying."
Sirius and I both snap our heads towards the portrait door. Tyler is leading a crying Tiffany through the common room. Why would she be crying with Tyler? Unless . . .
"Sean," I whisper. I stand abruptly. "I have to go, I'll see you later," I call to them.
I run through the castle and to my common room. I don't see Sean anywhere so I rush to the boy's dormitory hoping he's inside. I find him leaning against the bed's backboard, staring into space. "Hey Sean," I say quietly, joining him on the bed, "how are you doing?"
He takes a deep sigh. "You were right."
I don't want to be right. I want him to be happy. "I wish I wasn't."
"We were fine yesterday, but I couldn't find her this afternoon. I asked Brittany if she had seen her and she said that she was in their common room with Tyler."
I stay silent, partly because I don't know what to say, and partly because I know he isn't done.
"The thing is, part of me knew that she wouldn't stay away from him, but I still went back to her. I couldn't stay away from her. I love her too much. You can understand that, can't you?"
"Of course I can," I answer, thinking of Brad.
"I talked to her and we ended it. I'm really done with her this time. I'm not going to take her back. I'm through with this."
"That's good Sean, I'm glad you're doing this." Is it terrible that I don't completely believe him?
"Yeah, I guess."
"So does that mean I'll see more of you now?"
"I don't want to see Tyler or Tiffany, and Gryffindor is Tyler's house. I'll see you whenever you're around here though."
"Unless you're around Brad," I mutter.
"He is my mate, Jade, but don't worry. He's around Nathalie half the time so you'll see me. How are you doing though?"
"I'm doing okay Sean, it's you I'm worried about."
"Don't, I've been through this before. It'll help if you talk about something else to help me forget."
I nod. "Okay then, um, I spent the day with the girls today," I start. We talk for about an hour, like we used to. We miss dinner, but I don't mind. I tell him all about my day, and how things have been going since coming back from the holiday break. I also tell him how people swear I love Sirius.
Then he asks me the question I have avoided answering, even to myself. "Honestly Jade, how do you feel about him?"
How do I feel about him? That's a loaded question. I begin speaking what I think and feel.
"Well, I love to be around him, and I can't imagine ever losing his friendship. He's witty, has a great sense of humour, he can be sensitive- at times- he's loyal, he has this streak of recklessness so opposite from me that it attracts me. We can talk for hours; he listens to what I have to say. He's handsome, more so than anyone I've met. I . . . he took care of me when I needed someone the most; he saved me, in a way. I can't picture myself without him."
Sean smiles. "I wish you could have seen your face while you were talking."
"Why?"
"You were glowing, Jade. You've been in denial; he is much more than your mate."
I open my mouth to contradict him but the door opens and in walks Brad.
"Oh, hi Jade, I didn't know you were in here."
"I was just leaving," I say as I rise. "I'll see you later Sean."
"You don't have to leave on my account."
"I'm actually supposed to meet someone right now," I lie.
"Who?" Brad asks.
I don't understand why I feel like I have to answer his questions, but I do. "If you must know, it's Sirius."
I see Sean smirk at my answer. It's almost eight thirty, he knows Sirius has Quidditch practise until nine. I leave without giving Brad a chance to answer.
I head down to the Quidditch Pitch, hoping that Lily decided to watch James today so I can have some company. No such luck. I sit on the bleachers and wait for them to finish. I sit in the cold for a good half hour before James, the captain, calls everyone in. They talk for a minute and then zoom off to the locker room. Sirius, however, flies over to where I'm sitting. As he nears, I can see that he's covered in mud and his hair is dishevelled. Despite this, he still looks great.
"I didn't know you were so desperate to see me," he grins.
I shove him playfully. "You're so full of yourself."
"I haven't heard that one before," he says sarcastically, still grinning.
"I'm sure. I'm only here because I needed to get away."
"Hmm, how about you wait here for ten minutes while I shower and change and then you tell me all about why you needed to get away?"
"Okay, just don't take too long."
I wait, despite the chill, for ten minutes before Sirius comes back and takes a seat next to me.
"Took you long enough," I grumble.
He laughs. "I only took ten minutes, but anyway, what's up?"
I sigh. "I talked to Sean."
"And . . ." he prompts.
"He broke it off with Tiffany. He says it's for good this time."
"Ah," he thinks for a second. "Sean is my mate, but I'll admit that he frustrates me sometimes. I get the feeling this isn't the last time."
"Same here, mostly because he said it was the last time before. What frustrates me most is how neither Tyler nor Sean can leave Tiffany alone. It's as if they like this love triangle thing they've got going on. It's a sick game that neither is willing to get out of," I rant. "While she was with Sean, she made herself look like the victim by swearing that Tyler kept bothering her when I know for a fact that she was the one looking for him, and Sean bought it.
"I'm sure she does the same thing when she's with Tyler, making Sean look like the bad guy. I bet she's crying on Tyler's shoulder right now about the break up with Sean. Ugh, she's so infuriating! I wish Tyler and Sean would both leave her alone so she could stop messing with them! But they won't, and until they do, this cycle will keep going."
Sirius says nothing at first, making sure I'm finished venting. When he's sure that I am, he speaks. "You are absolutely right, but they love her, it isn't easy to let go."
"I loved Brad," I contradict quietly, "and I was able to move on."
"You wouldn't believe the hold that women can have on men. Like you said, she makes herself the victim and it becomes a role. She's the damsel in distress in need of someone to save her. Sean and Tyler take it in turns to play her knight in shining armour. Some guys like to be the hero, always rescuing the damsel."
A thought suddenly strikes me. "Is that was I am- or was- to you?"
Sirius shakes his head. "No, you were a friend in need."
"I was a friend in need? So what am I now?"
"Now?" He looks thoughtful for a second. "Well, now you're much more than that."
Much more than that? Much more than a friend? What does that mean? If I'm more than a friend, than that can only be . . . a sister? I'm like a sister to him? Or maybe . . . no, it can't be. I don't know what I was expecting his answer to be but it certainly wasn't this.
I force myself to look at him and become conscious of our proximity; our faces are inches from each other. I freeze but my heart speeds up. I never noticed how mesmerizing his grey eyes are; I can't back away.
Sirius closes the small distance and places a sound kiss on my lips.
When he pulls away, my mind tells me to stay put but my body leans in for another kiss. He obliges willingly. I feel one of his hands at the back of my neck pulling me closer while my hands lay motionless on my lap.
That's when it hits me. Being here, kissing Sirius feels so right. All thought leaves my mind, and all that matters is us: Sirius and I.
I don't know how long the kiss lasts, but when we pull away, I come back to my senses and flush.
Sirius and I kissed. This can't be happening. I turn abruptly and rush down the stands to the castle.