Love and Trust
By: Apolla
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Serena and her entire family. Oh, and any other unfamiliar names of random friends and characters I might choose to throw in here.
Setting: Except for the Prologue and Epilogue, the entire story takes place in what we'll call "Marauder time" – when Sirius, James, Lily, and the rest attended Hogwarts.
Note: This takes place after OotP, using some of the info we learn in THBP, and as this was written before TDH, nothing in that book pertains to this story (although I did love the 7th book).
Pairings: Mainly Sirus/OC with a little James/Lily on the side.
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"I can't believe we lost," Madison whispered angrily.
Lily, Madison, Isabelle, Rosie, Alice, and Serena were sneaking down to the kitchens that night to fulfill the obligations of their bet. Lily sighed. "Just because I missed that one goal does not mean that it is my fault we lost, Madison," she said.
"Did I say that it was?" Madison asked, spoiling for a fight.
"No, but you implied – "
"I did no such thing – "
"Yes, you did, and then you screamed at me out on the field – "
"It was an easy save, how could you have – "
"See, I knew it! You do blame me!"
"Would the both of you shut up," Serena hissed. "I came with you to be nice, and right now you are pissing me off."
Lily and Madison both turned to glare at her, and then all six girls froze as they heard the sound of a throat being cleared. Slowly, they all turned and saw Professor McGonagall standing behind them, arms crossed and eyes furious. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked them, her voice dangerously low.
The girls were silent, none of them knowing what to say. Finally Serena spoke. "We're sorry, Professor. It won't happen again."
Professor McGonagall pointed a finger at the girls threateningly. "That's right. It won't. Wandering in the halls after hours is against school rules. Fifteen points from Gryffindor – each."
"Professor, don't – " Lily began.
"You can't – " Madison started.
"Yes, I think I can," Professor McGonagall said. "Detentions, Miss Kepler and Miss Evans. And one more word out of any of you, and it'll be fifty more points."
Alice stepped on Madison's foot as she opened her mouth to say something, effectively silencing her, and the girls made their way back to the common room without saying a word. Frank and the Marauders descended upon them as soon as they entered the room. "Where's our food?" Sirius demanded.
"What happened?" Remus asked, seeing the expression on Madison's face.
"Thanks to these two bickering," Serena said, glaring at Madison and Lily, "McGonagall caught us and took off fifteen points from Gryffindor – each."
Madison and Lily glared at Serena. "And Madison and Lily got detentions," Isabelle said, sounding almost smug.
All six girls were glaring and purposely trying to irritate each other. James and Remus stepped between them. "Lil, you got a detention?" James asked, surprised.
She glared at him without answering, and he hastily continued. "All right, you girls have obviously spent way too much time together today," James said.
Now all of the girls were glaring at him. James shot a desperate look at Remus. "Uh – maybe we should just go to bed," Remus suggested.
"Maybe I don't want to go to bed," Madison snapped at him.
Smirking at the expression on Remus' face, Serena held her wand as inconspicuously as possible and muttered an incantation. James and Remus' hair slowly started turning bright turquoise. As the girls, Peter, Sirius, and Frank struggled not to laugh, James and Remus looked at their friends in confusion.
Finally Rosie cracked and started laughing loud. "What? What's so funny?" James asked.
Lily smiled at him. "Oh, nothing."
With that, the girls all burst into laughter and went upstairs to their room.
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A week later, it was Valentine's Day. Edgar and one of Serena's ex-boyfriends that she still talked to had sent Serena flowers and so, to her surprise, had Eric. James and Lily and Frank and Alice got each other flowers and chocolates and gifts and were so generally nauseating that Sirius, Madison, Serena, Remus, and Peter avoided them as best they could for most of the day. For some reason, Rosie and Isabelle thought that the two couples were cute.
"They are literally making me sick," Madison said, sounding disgusted.
"I can't believe I call him my best friend," Sirius said.
Sirius, Madison, Serena, Remus, Peter, Rosie, and Isabelle were all sitting in the Gryffindor common room at a table far away from the two lovesick couples. They were watching and discussing them and, with the exception of Rosie and Isabelle, just generally complaining about them.
"I might have expected this from Frank and Alice, but not Lily and James," Serena added.
"It is rather excessive," Remus conceded.
James had just given Lily a silver necklace with a little silver heart dangling from the chain, and Lily had given him a kiss, running a hand through his hair. James had grinned, looking pleased with himself, and pulled Lily into his lap. She had giggled and squirmed playfully as James tried to kiss her again.
"Ugh," Madison said. "Lily is embarrassing me."
"Why do guys do that?" Sirius wondered out loud. "I get plenty of girls, and I – "
"Am an idiot," Serena finished for him.
Sirius swung an arm around her shoulders. "Jealous?" he asked with an exaggerated wink.
Serena elbowed him. "You wish," she scoffed.
"Who were the flowers from, Serena?" Isabelle asked, changing the subject.
"Edgar and Eric, and a guy I used to date," Serena replied.
Rosie looked surprised. "Eric? But didn't you break up with him?"
Serena shrugged. "We were never really dating, so how could we really break up? We just kinda stopped hanging out."
Sirius shook his head, looking wistful. "I wish every girl thought like you did. It'd make my life so much easier."
Serena hexed him, causing his ears to shrivel up.
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Late that afternoon, Lily and Alice managed to pull themselves away from James and Frank to follow Serena, Madison, Rosie, and Isabelle upstairs. "Gee, how nice of you to join us," Madison commented as Lily and Alice came into the room.
"Oh, stop," Alice said.
She and Lily had known that Madison would have found their behavior annoying, but they didn't care. James and Frank made the two girls happy, and that was all that mattered, right? Lily said as much, but Madison and Serena just exchanged disbelieving glances.
"Just wait," Alice said. "One of these days you two are going to fall head over heels, and then you'll be just as sickening as we are."
"That is never going to happen," Madison said.
Lily smiled in anticipation. "I can't wait."
"Truce, please, so we can get ready," Isabelle said.
"All right, all right," Serena said.
Serena made her way over to her mirror and looked at her straight blond hair in despair. "I hate my hair," Serena complained.
She eyed Lily. "Hey Lil," Serena began in a persuasive tone of voice. "Can you perform a Curling Charm on my hair?"
Lily looked at her watch. "I don't know, it's kinda complicated……" she trailed off.
Serena gave her a pleading look. "Pleeeeease?" she wheedled.
Lily sighed. "All right," she agreed.
The girls both got dressed, and Lily used her curling charm on Serena's hair. Isabelle put Madison's hair up, and Alice pinned up her curls as well. Rosie pulled Lily's hair into a complicated twist, and then all the girls were ready to go.
They made their way downstairs and found Frank and the Marauders already down there. Isabelle, Rosie, and Peter made their way to the Great Hall, where the ball was taking place. James and Frank greeted their girlfriends with a kiss, telling them they looked beautiful. As predicted, Remus' eyes almost fell out of his head when he saw Madison. He handed her a single red rose that went perfectly with her bright red dress. "You look gorgeous," Remus told Madison.
To Serena and Sirius' surprise, Madison actually blushed and smiled at Remus. Sirius and Serena exchanged a look, both of them trying not to laugh. Serena twirled. "How do I look?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Sirius.
He made a show of looking her up and down. "Pretty good," he said with a leer.
She wrapped a shiny blond curl around her finger, looking at him with her big blue eyes wide. "Only 'pretty' good?" she asked, pouting.
Sirius grinned. "Pretty damn good."
Just then Edgar Bones came over to Serena. "Hey, you look gorgeous," he said.
Serena smiled. "Hey. Thanks for the flowers."
He smiled back at her. "I'm glad you liked them."
Edgar turned to Sirius. "Hey Black, how's it going?"
"Pretty good," Sirius said.
There was a pause, then, "I better go meet Susan. See you two later."
"See you," Edgar said, putting his arm around Serena.
"'Bye, Sirius," Serena added.
Sirius threw her a grin, then left.
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Later that night, Sirius got himself a drink while Susan went to the bathroom to "freshen up". What, exactly, that was code for Sirius had no idea, but every single girl he had ever known used it. Sirius was glad to have a moment alone. He had asked Susan to the Ball because he had been tired of girls following him around, trying to get him to ask them. It's not like any of them really knew him. They just wanted to go with him because he was hot and popular – although not very modest. And he had asked Susan because she was beautiful and fun, but he was starting to worry that she thought that he wanted to start something serious with her. Sirius didn't want to start anything serious with anyone.
Sirius' thoughts drifted towards Serena. She looked unbelievably hot in that little black dress, with those high black heels and that necklace that certainly……drew attention to where it lay. And what was with her hair? It was all curly somehow. I liked it. I think I almost fell over when I first saw her come down. I never knew her legs were so long……It was really hard to pretend that it didn't affect me.
"Hey Sirius!" Susan said brightly, coming over to him.
"Hey," he replied, part of his mind still thinking about Serena and how hot she had looked.
"Do you want to dance?" Susan asked him.
Sirius shrugged. "Sure."
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Serena was feeling bored. What was the matter with her? Amos, Eric, and now Edgar. She had never moved through boys so quickly before. It was like she was searching for something in a guy (what, she had no idea), and when she didn't find it immediately, she just moved on.
"So how's it going with Edgar?" Isabelle asked, coming up to Serena.
Serena shrugged. "All right, I guess."
Isabelle gave her a sympathetic look. "He's not right either?"
Serena had told her girl friends that both Amos and Eric hadn't been 'right' for her. "I don't think so," Serena replied.
Isabelle shrugged. "Don't worry about that tonight. Just have fun!" she advised.
Serena brightened a little. "You're right. Why am I taking this so seriously? It's just a silly Valentine's Day ball."
She changed the subject. "Are you having fun?" she asked her friend.
Isabelle nodded. "I met a Ravenclaw sixth year, Gregory. He's – oh, he's waving me over. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bye!" Serena called after her as Isabelle hurried away.
She felt happy for her friend. She smiled at Edgar as he came back over to her. "Want to dance?" he asked her.
"Sure."
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James and Lily swayed slowly to the music. Lily's arms were around James' neck, and his hands were moving up and down her back as they kissed. Whether a slow or a fast song played, James and Lily didn't change position.
They finally moved off the dance floor to take an air and drink break. Lily looked around. "How do you think Madison and Remus are doing?" she asked James.
James, remembering how his friends had said that he and Lily tried to fix people up, shrugged noncommittally as he and Lily sat down at a table. Lily put her head on James' shoulder. "I hope they're having fun," she said.
James kissed the top of her head. "I'm sure they are."
Lily looked up and smiled at him. "I love you, you know."
Sometimes it amazed James how he never tired of hearing her say that. He had tried for so many years to win her over and now that he finally had, he counted himself lucky.
James grinned at her arrogantly. "I know."
Lily punched him lightly before leaning forward and giving him a kiss.
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Out on the dance floor, Remus and Madison were having a good time. They were dancing and laughing together, and when a slow song came on Madison snuggled into Remus' arms. "I'm having a really good time," Madison said, looking up at Remus.
"Me too," Remus said.
They looked at each other, and Remus leaned in to kiss her. He stopped just before he reached her lips and Madison, still looking at him, closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.
Remus kissed her back. It was a very good night.
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"Come on," Frank said, he and Alice sneaking out of the Great Hall.
They headed back to the Gryffindor common room, which was empty. It was extremely late, after all, and the younger students had already gone to bed. "My room's empty," Alice said, blushing.
Frank grinned at her, and the two made their way to Alice's dorm room. Locking the door behind them, they began kissing and ended up on Alice's bed. Frank pushed up Alice's dress and saw her garter belt. "Sexy," he commented.
Alice smiled shyly, then pulled Frank's mouth to hers.
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Serena, who was dancing with Edgar, rolled her eyes after making sure he couldn't see. Edgar had just told her that she looked like a beautiful angel. An angel, Serena thought, trying not to groan out loud. Give me a break.
At the moment, Serena was trying to remember why exactly she had agreed to go with Edgar to the ball. Because he's older……because he's handsome……although he's definitely not funny……and not interesting……in fact, he's pretty much boring me to death here……maybe we shouldn't be spending so much time talking.
When a slow song came on and Edgar pulled Serena close to him, she smiled and allowed him to kiss her. Yes, this is much better than talking, she thought.
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"And so then I was thinking that after your next Quidditch match, we could go and – "
Sirius felt slightly panicked. His next Quidditch match? Susan was already planning on things for them to do together after his next Quidditch match? That wasn't for two more weeks! He had no intention of still being with Susan in two weeks. In fact, Sirius didn't see any reason for he and Susan to be together anytime after tonight.
"So what do you think?" Susan finished, breaking into Sirius' thoughts.
"Uh, yeah, we'll see how it goes," Sirius said vaguely.
Susan frowned slightly. To distract her, and himself, Sirius leaned in and kissed her. Now this is why I asked her to the ball, Sirius thought as Susan kissed him back eagerly.
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Rosie ran up to Frank and Alice as they re-entered the Great Hall, looking only slightly disheveled. "Where have you two been?" she squealed.
Frank and Alice exchanged a look. "Uh – " Frank started.
"We went to, um – " Alice began.
But Rosie didn't wait to hear their reply. "Sirius just hexed Rodolphus Lestrange!"
"What?" Frank and Alice exclaimed simultaneously.
They looked around. Sure enough, no one was dancing but were instead standing in small clumps, whispering to each other. Spotting Remus, Madison, James, Lily, Peter, Serena, Edgar, Isabelle, and a brown-haired boy all standing together, Frank, Alice, and Rosie quickly hurried over to join them. "What happened?" Alice asked.
Edgar looked annoyed, and Serena was slightly pale. "Bellatrix and Lestrange came up to Serena and started taunting her," Remus explained. "Sirius was right there, and he heard what they were saying. The next thing we know, Lestrange is wobbling around and Bellatrix starts screaming and swearing at Sirius, who is of course yelling right back at her."
"Are you okay?" Frank asked Serena.
She gave him an oddly bright smile. "Yes, I'm fine," she said, a bit too loudly.
"What did he say to you?" Madison asked.
Serena shook her head. "Nothing, really. Just the usual. You know how Lestrange and Bellatrix are."
Everyone, except for Edgar and the boy standing with Isabelle, nodded. Serena started moving away from her friends. "Actually, there's something I have to do," she said.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Lily asked, frowning worriedly at her friend.
Serena smiled at her again. "No, of course not. I'm fine."
She looked at Edgar. "I'm sorry, Edgar. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
And she quickly hurried away. Once Serena made her way out to the hallway, she leaned against a wall. She couldn't let anyone see how shaken she really was.
She had been standing alone in the corner sipping her drink while Edgar went and got himself one when Lestrange and Bellatrix had come over to her, both clad in black. Bellatrix had been hanging off of Lestrange's arm, and the two of them had both been grinning cruelly at her. "Well, look who it is," Bellatrix cackled. "My favorite little blood traitor."
Serena had rolled her eyes. "And here are my two favorite Voldemort cronies," Serena had retorted.
Bellatrix's eyes had flashed. "You dare say the Dark Lord's name?" she had hissed.
Lately everyone – including the Daily Prophet – had begun referring to Voldemort as You-Know-Who. Serena refused to give in to the trend. "I always call my enemies by their names," Serena had replied.
This time it had been Lestrange who had leaned in towards her. "Enemy? But surely you must know that the Dark Lord has a special interest in you – and your brother," he said smoothly.
Serena had felt the first frisson of fear. "You leave my brother out of this," she said fiercely. "What do you want with me?"
"You mean – you really don't know?" Bellatrix had asked delightedly.
She had let loose with a high-pitched laugh that grated on Serena's ears. But Lestrange had smiled at her. It was a cold smile, one that didn't reach his eyes. He reached over and rubbed her pendant between his fingers. "All in good time," he said, running a finger down Serena's cheek.
Bellatrix frowned at her boyfriend's action. Serena, feeling disgusted, had grabbed his wrist and pushed it away from her. "Don't touch me," she spat.
"You bitch," Lestrange said, angered that she would dare push him away and speak to him in that way.
He had reached for his wand when Sirius had hexed him. Serena hadn't seen Sirius come up and had no idea how long he had been standing there. After Sirius hit Lestrange with a Jelly-Legs Jinx, Bellatrix had turned her fury on her cousin and the two had had a loud shouting match that had ended only when Professors Slughorn and McGonagall had come and marched the Black cousins to Dumbledore's office. Professor Flitwick undid Sirius' jinx, and Lestrange had left the hall immediately.
Serena let out a sigh. She hadn't told any of her friends, not even Lily, that Voldemort was hunting down and murdering her entire family and she had no idea why. Now Sirius might know. How much did he hear? Serena wondered.
And why did Bellatrix and Lestrange know why Voldemort was after the Ashby family and her own brother and uncle couldn't find out? Why did Voldemort want them all dead?
Serena hurried down the hallway, heading towards the owlery. Upon reaching it, she conjured up a quill and parchment and hurriedly wrote a note to her brother.
Al –
I really hope you and Uncle are having some luck finding out what V wants with our family. Lestrange and Bellatrix Black accosted me at the Valentine's Day Ball. They said that he has a special interest in me – and in you. And when I asked what he wanted with us, they just laughed. They couldn't believe that we didn't know. Lestrange and Bellatrix know what he wants with us, I'm sure of it.
Do you really not know, Al? Or are you and Uncle just keeping it from me? If you know you better tell me, because you're not protecting me by keeping me in the dark.
Write back soon so that I know you're okay.
- Serena
Serena tied her note to one of the school owl's legs and felt better. If Al knew, after getting her note he would definitely tell her. Of course, if he didn't know……
Serena was startled by a loud noise. It sounded like someone else was coming up the stairs to the owlery. Gripping her wand in her hand, Serena pointed it at the door as it creaked open, then found Sirius standing in front of her.
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's you."
Sirius was inspecting her carefully. She looked much better now than she had when Lestrange and his cousin were talking to her. Her face didn't look so pale anymore. Sirius had looked over to see Lestrange, Bellatrix, and Serena in a corner. He had strode over just in time to see Lestrange grab Serena's necklace and run a finger down her cheek before Serena pushed him away and he called her a bitch.
Why wouldn't they leave her alone? That was the thought that Sirius kept mulling over as McGonagall yelled at and lectured him in her office. He thought back to their conversation on the train. Serena had said that Voldemort and his Death Eaters – and Sirius was sure that Lestrange, and probably Bellatrix as well, were Death Eaters – were ruining her life, and that they were still trying to. What had she meant by that?
"Why were they bothering you?" Sirius finally asked.
Serena answered him carefully. She wasn't sure how much Sirius had heard, and she didn't want to explain it if she didn't have to. "It's Lestrange and Bellatrix," Serena said with a shrug. "They hate me."
Sirius didn't look happy with her answer. "When we talked on the train," he said slowly. "You said that Voldemort had ruined your life. Then you said that he was still trying to. What did you mean?"
Serena felt herself calm down. Sirius hadn't heard what Lestrange and Bellatrix had said to her; if he had, he would have mentioned it. "His Death Eaters attacked my brother and my uncle," Serena said. "I'm afraid they might try again."
This was partly true, and all of Serena's friends already knew about it. Sirius frowned. What was she not telling him?
Serena stood on her tiptoes and gave Sirius a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for jinxing Lestrange," she said.
Sirius' frown deepened. Serena was holding something back, but she obviously had no intention of telling him. He decided to let it go. "You're welcome," he replied.
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Serena made her way back to her dorm and found Madison, Lily, Rosie, Isabelle, and Alice all still awake. "Are you okay?" Lily asked her as soon as she walked into the room.
"I'm fine," Serena said. "It was no big deal."
She grinned at Lily. "The last time we ran into them was a lot worse."
Lily smiled reluctantly. "I guess you're right," she said, her concern for Serena ebbing.
Serena looked at her friends. Lily was sitting on the floor, Madison and Rosie had already changed out of their dresses, Isabelle was taking the pins out of Lily's hair, and Alice was – "Oh my gosh," Serena said, staring at her friend. "You had sex!"
Alice jumped. "What?"
Lily, Madison, Isabelle, and Rosie all turned to look at their friend. Alice was flushing a bright red, and Madison grinned. "She did, look at her!" Madison crowed.
"Was it your first time?" Rosie asked.
"Was it with Frank?" Isabelle queried.
Alice, Rosie, Madison, Lily, and Serena all stared at her. "I was just asking!" Isabelle said defensively.
"Of course it was with Frank," Alice said, sounding a bit put out.
She clapped a hand over her mouth after realizing what she had said, and her friends started laughing and squealing and talking all at once.
"I knew it!" Serena cried.
"Was he any good?" Madison wanted to know.
"Did you plan for it to happen tonight?" Lily asked.
"On Valentine's Day, that's so romantic!" Rosie sighed.
"Come on, Alice, tell us!" Isabelle demanded.
"All right, all right," Alice said, overwhelmed. "Yes, it was my first – and it was with Frank," she said, shooting Isabelle a glare. "And we didn't verbally plan it, but I think we both kinda thought it would happen tonight."
"Was he any good?" Madison asked, repeating her earlier question.
Alice blushed. "I don't really have anything to compare it to," she said.
Madison looked disappointed, but then Alice grinned. "But I thought it was pretty good."
Serena squealed and hugged her friend. "I'm so happy for you, then!"
"Have any of you done it?" Alice asked.
Rosie and Isabelle shook their heads, but Madison and Serena nodded. "Who?" Madison and Serena asked each other at the same time.
Serena pointed at Madison. "You first."
"Okay," Madison said. "It was last summer. I went on a cruise with my parents to Greece, and I met a Greek wizard at one of the ports. That was the only time I've ever done it, though."
"A portside romance, that's so sweet," Rosie said.
Madison rolled her eyes. "If you say so. What about you?" she asked Serena.
Serena smiled. "His name is Henri," she said. "He goes to Beauxbatons. We dated for almost a year, then just decided to go for it. We broke up a little while after, and then I moved here," she said. "But he's the only guy I've ever done it with."
"Do you still talk to him?" Isabelle asked.
Serena nodded. "Once in awhile. And he sent me flowers today."
The girls all turned to look at Lily, who had been conspicuously silent through their entire conversation. "Have you ever done it, Lils?" Serena asked her friend.
Lily twirled a piece of hair around her finger. "Um – no."
Madison looked shocked. "You haven't?"
"No," Lily said, sounding a bit defensive. "We've talked about it, and we both want to, but we just never have. People are always around, and – "
"If you want, we could all leave right now and tell James to come on up," Serena offered with a sly grin.
Lily threw a pillow at her as Madison, Alice, Rosie, and Isabelle burst into laughter.
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Author's Note: Review! Please? I'll give you a cookie……