Chapter seven.

"Lara, hurry up! I told the Hufflepuffs to be there at half past seven. Which is now."

I stood in the doorway, ready to run to the muggle studies classroom the minute Lara had put her freaking jumper on.

How could it be, that she was never ready on time?

"I told you loud and clear; you can leave without me, I'll be there as soon as I can." she snapped in irritation.

"And then I told you; no fucking way I'm going there alone. Remember that evil sister I don't want to interact with on my own?"

"Merlin, Iona's your sister, it's not like she will hex you."

I laughed bitterly at her comment, following her every move to make sure she did her best to get ready.

"Don't be so sure."

She was finally fully dressed but instead of making her way over to the door, she stopped in front of the mirror.

"Merlin's beard, Lara, we need to go!"

"Fine, I'm done. Take it easy!"

I groaned at her when she wandered out of the room. Before she reached the entrance, I rushed my way past her, hearing her yell after me.

"Hey, wait for me!"

There was five minutes of active running to get to the classroom in reasonable time. Lara panted behind me while we rushed through the castle, I regretted the decision not to change out of my uniform. The skirt was making it difficult to run and the heat from the jumper made me sweat. The dozen people standing outside the classroom looked upon us in surprise when we arrived.

"I'm so sorry we're late." I took a deep breath. "Lara had a hard time picking what to wear."

"Oh, shut it." she spat, exhausted from the sprint.

"No problem, Alissa." a Hufflepuff girl smiled at me, I believed her name was Hannah.

I went to take a seat on one of the chairs the Hufflepuffs promised to bring, friendly guys those Hufflers. I smiled at them and they smiled back, sometimes I wished me and my friends possessed the same care and open-minded manner. Life looked easier if you constantly had a smile on your lips. Unfortunately for me it appeared impossible to hold up that warm-hearted personality, it was simply too much work.

Lara took a seat beside me, leaning back against the chairs she let out a deep breath. I realized she was disappointed that her current object of interest hadn't turned up yet, Sarah Jones, the friendliest little Hufflepuff girl who always stared at Lara during transfiguration class. That staring had been going on for too long without getting anywhere at all. I used to encourage Lara to talk to her outside periods, but she didn't have the courage. I was tempted to ask her out in Lara's place, but I was giving her another month.

I leaned in and whispered; "She'll turn up, just wait and see" before I took out my tarot cards, arranging them on the table in front of us.

This divination activity had grown to be a tradition before the quidditch-games and my readings were usually correct. But the reading worked best if it was on the quidditch team captain. I figured that out after some bad readings during the fourth year. I scanned the area for Oliver Rickett, the Hufflepuff captain and caught sight of him standing in the middle of the group, looking anxiously up through the corridor. That's when I noticed the noise, a group of evil laughing students made their way towards us.

Fuck. I wished my choice of place would have prevented them from coming but that plan hadn't worked. To my relief, my sister was not with them. I figured she'd avoid me just as much as I avoided her.

"Ready to read us those cards, Fione?" Emma Vanity came up to the table, eyeing me with her dark green eyes. Her mouth turned into a snake-like grin.

"So you decided to slither out of that snakepit of yours, just to see me? How kind of you, Emma." I fired off a big fake smile and her glare got bigger.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." she flicked her stiff ponytail to the side and with one look she ordered the rest of her little gang to join her around the table.

"You disappoint me Emma, you are aware of the rules. Only captains at the table while I'm reading the cards."

I didn't bother to look at her, instead I reached out my hand towards Oliver Rickett and he stepped forward. His smile was still bright as always when he got up next to Emma, who stared at him with hatred in her evil eyes.

"So, who wants to go first?"

Emma didn't have the chance to reply before Oliver spoke with confidence.

"Miss. Vanity, please, ladies first." he offered her to pull out her chair, but she waved his hand off, as if she waved off an annoying bug. She sat down in elegance before looking me straight in the eyes.

"If you try to lure me again…" she hissed saying nothing further. I was used to this, the empty threats from dramatic and sinister Slytherins, but something in Emma's eyes made me believe she meant it this time.

"Emma, are you taking me for a fraud?" I gasped. "I would never…" the laughs that spread around us made the Slytherin-gang stiffen up even more. They now looked like pale miserable statues, all staring Emma's way. One time I tricked them into thinking they would win, one bloody time, but they had a difficult time letting it go.

I was just about read the first card when another noise interrupted us. The noise of James Potter shouting.

"Wait! Don't start…" a loud thump. "Without us!" after him came his three faithful companions, all blushing in red after the run they'd made.

"Bloody hell…" the Slytherins mumbled, and I concurred, because wherever the marauders and the Slytherins met, there would be trouble.

"Oh hello, lovelies." James bowed to the crowd and to his great joy the Hufflepuff girls, and boys, giggled. "Are we late for the reading?"

"No." I contemplated him with irritation. Why were they here? They never came to my readings. But then I saw the smirking boy behind him, showing of a trail of white perfect teeth. That little smirk explained it all. They were simply here so that Sirius Black could steal a little snog from Beth. How disappointed he would be when he figured out she wasn't here. To my surprise he didn't even take a look around. Instead, his eyes met with mine and I don't think he realised it himself, but his smile became an awfully lot wider.

"Hi." he said in a ridiculously childish voice. I was convinced he would make a dorky wink but to my relief he didn't, instead he pulled his hand through his tousled hair, making it settle upon his back.

When did his hair become so... manly? Oh stop it, Alissa.

I could sense Lara's sneer without even looking her way.

"Yes, hello, lads. Would you mind?" I pointed to the back of the room as an example of where they could park themselves. "I would prefer to begin this reading before midnight."

They all looked at me with scepticism but then Sirius pulled James to the spot I had suggested and the other two followed.

Good boy, I thought in the voice I only used for my cat at home. That was weird.

The reading was over and only a few students lingered. We're all still laughing at the face Emma Vanity had made when the first card I draw for her was the card of Death. And I don't think I must explain that's not a positive omen.

"I will live on her grimace foor weeks." James Potter giggled.

"At least I didn't trick her this time."

"You've tricked her during one of these 'things'?" Potter asked with delight.

"Yeah. Wouldn't recommend it. They hexed my food for four bloody weeks. Lost 6 pounds that month."

"Worth it!" he stated, and I nodded in agreement. He went back to speaking with some of the remaining Hufflepuffs while I picked up my tarot cards from the table. Lara was on the opposite side of the corridor, discussing homework with Oliver and, to my huge thrill, Sarah Smith.

"Hey." Sirius Black said as he sat down on the stool next to me. To his pleasure I dropped the cards I was holding right down on the stone floor. "Wow, I didn't realize my presence made you that nervous, love."

Just shut up, you freakishly good smelling egocentric fella.

"Didn't we go over this last time we spoke?" I replied as I leaned down to pick up the cards that were spread all around the floor.

"Go over what? How good your hair looks when you have it like that?" he winked, and I grumbled so loud it made him burst out in laughter. "Okay, I guess that was not what you meant."

I laid the cards on the table again with a slam.

"No, it was not."

"Fione, please, tell me, what did we talk about last Saturday? I had a few firewhiskeys, and my memory is failing me." his eyes looked all puppy eyes and I hated him for doing that. Mostly because it made his lips pout and my gaze wandered there whether I wanted it or not.

"That I don't want you to call me 'love'."

He closed his eyes and frowned before looking at me again.

"I'm sorry, can't recall having that conversation."

Of course he didn't.

"Well, do you remember promising Beth you would come see her during Sunday's lunch?"

Now he seemed to be confused for real.

"Oh, shit."

"She's not so happy with you right now, mister."

She had been spending the entire Sunday cursing his ass, and she promised herself not to be taken into his trap again. I didn't bother telling her she was plainly lying to herself. Because I was fond of the idea of her not hounding after him anymore, but I knew she'd run back to him the minute he asked her out again.

"I honestly forgot." the puppy eyes were back, and I fought the urge to punch him straight in that ridiculously handsome face.

"Don't bother explaining yourself to me. It's her you stood up." he opened his mouth to say something but regretted it right away. "But if you do care what my opinion is…"

"Yes?" he replied at once.

Weird.

"I believe it would be best if you let her be."

A restrained smile appeared on his pink lips before he raised an eyebrow at me.

"And why is that, Fione? Are you jealous?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Black." I spat. "My one and only reason is this; you're an egocentric heartbreaker, with respect for no one but yourself, and possibly your three friends over there." I nodded to the rest of his squad. "You've spent the last three years in this place making girls, and possibly also boys, fall boundlessly in love with you; before dumping them after you are given what you want out of them, Leaving them hurting without even a decent explanation. Because if you would care to explain to all those poor people you've wronged; all you could say is that you're a lonely, hurting, sorrowful soul, longing for something real but you're too much of a buffoon to ever admit that to yourself. Therefore, I would love it, if you could leave my friend alone, and spare her the trouble that is you, Sirius Black."

He looked fixedly at me with his big grey eyes and for a second I saw something that looked like sadness flash by in his gaze but it disappeared before I could blink. His lower lip moved, but I didn't hear a sound and before I knew it he got up from the chair, his messy hair, surrounding his pale face when he in a low voice replied to my rant.

"I'll take your words into thought. Maybe I'll listen or perhaps I'll do what I always do when people truthfully tell me what I am; ignore them." he sneered before continuing. "See you around, Alissa."

Soon after he stormed off, without his loyal friends. I watched his small but muscular back disappear into the shadows before standing up myself.

Did I go too far? Had I hurt him? And what did I care if I had? He deserved it.