Sirius Black's Sordid Affair

Part VII

Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.

Dorothy Parker

As it drew closer to Halloween, the tension of the school seemed to ease. James and Sirius still weren't speaking, so the other houses stopped expecting Cockroach Clusters to fall from the ceiling, or flooded common rooms. And despite the concerns the headmaster had shared with James regarding the war outside Hogwarts leaking in, there were no incidents in the weeks leading up to Halloween.

The climate was so moderate that the professors had allowed the students to hire a band to come play during the Halloween feast. Lily suspected this would never have been done if James and Sirius were on plotting terms. Though the two had not ended up in a fistfight again, they were avoiding one another except for Quidditch practice. Lily had seen less and less of Sirius. Some nights he didn't return to the dorm at all. She didn't know where he slept on those nights.

But the morning before Halloween, Sirius was not the one on her mind as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling she had charmed to show the sky, much like the Great Hall did.

The night before, while she and James had been patrolling, he had Transfigured a quill he found on the ground into a flower. When he'd given it to her, he seemed to be just as shocked as she was, like he wasn't sure why he'd done it. Lily felt like someone had cursed her, the way her spine shivered. It had been an awkward walk after that.

The flower was in a tiny vase beside her bed. Lily wasn't sure what kind of flower it was, or if it was a real kind of flower at all. But it was purple and had petals like a daisy's and if she looked at it carefully, sometimes she saw her initials in the little markings on the petals. Not that she had looked that closely. Or frequently…

She managed to leave the dorm ahead of James that morning and sadly noted that Sirius had still gone ahead of her, or had not returned at all. His absence made her think about what Snape had told her. It made her wonder what had happened. She may have asked Sirius if he had been around, but he wasn't.

Lily met Dorcas at the Gryffindor table. The other girl was poking at her hashbrowns with a fork and kept pulling something from her pocket to look at it.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Dorcas smiled weakly. "Trying to figure out how to sneak out of the castle next week."

"Sounds like something I could help with," Sirius said, grinning and plopping down in the seat across from Dorcas. Lily noted that the bags under his eyes were darker than they should be. "Why are you sneaking out?"

"There's a Quidditch game I need to be at."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and exchanged a dubious look with Lily. "Who's playing?"

"Ireland and Bulgaria."

"Ireland and Bulgaria? Why in Merlin's name would you sneak out of the school to watch that game? Bulgaria is terrible this year. It will be a killing," Sirius said.

Dorcas turned pink. "No reason. I just think it would be fun to go see."

"She's got a bit of a crush on one of the Chasers," Lily told him. "Grassy Knoll or something?"

"Gershon Meadowes," Dorcas corrected. "And it's not a crush, it's just…"

"Love at first sight?" Lily suggested.

Dorcas turned even more red. "I just want to meet him, alright? I've just got this feeling like I need to."

"Sounds like fa-ate," Marlene sang as she arrived.

"Shut up, forget I said anything."

"No, not at all," Sirius said. "I think it's brilliant. Should be easy enough to get you out of the school as well. There're still a couple tunnels that Filch doesn't know about."

"Really?" Dorcas brightened. "I um… I bought an extra ticket. If you want to go."

"No, I have plans. Lils, why don't you go? You've never seen a professional Quidditch match, have you?"

"No. It sounds fun. Plus, I have to make sure this Meadowes person is good enough for our Dork," Lily told Sirius, smiling and throwing and arm around their friend.

"Thanks guys," Dorcas told them, lighting up.

"Lily, do you think she'll let me pretty her up for her date?" Marlene asked, winking.

"It's not a date! Just a Quidditch match. Anyways," Dorcas said, desperately trying to change the subject, "how was patrol last night?"

Lily noticed Sirius withdraw into himself. "It was good… James Transfigured a quill into a flower and gave it to me."

"Really? Has he asked you out yet?" Marlene asked, leaning to get closer to the conversation. Lily pushed her hair away from the marmalade.

"Well, no. I don't know that he will."

Dorcas snorted. "Of course he will. You are Lily Evans and he is James Potter. He will ask you out."

"Maybe…" Lily muttered. She noticed Sirius had focused on something across the room and turned to see what it was.

At the Slytherin table, Armand Mulciber had his arm wrapped around Hera's waist. "Enjoying breakfast, Zabini?"

"I was. Pass the toast, please." Hera scooted out of his hold.

"I thought you enjoyed our date at the end of last year. Our fathers used to talk about our wedding, remember?"

"Yeah, well Father isn't around anymore. Please leave me alone."

A biscuit soaked in gravy hit Mulciber in the head. Gravy dripped onto his robes.

Hera looked and saw Sirius licking the leftover gravy off the serving spoon. Hera smiled and Sirius gave her a mock salute.

Beside her, Mulciber was raging. "Fucking Black!" Said Black stuck up his middle finger and took a bite of scrambled eggs. Hera took the opportunity to scoot further down the bench and hide her smile with food.

"Stop making eyes at my blood-traitor brother, would you?"

That wiped the smile from Hera's face and she looked down at her pancakes instead. "Yeah, okay," she acquiesced sadly.

Regulus regretted his harsh words for a moment. His brother was glaring at him now. "Look, he doesn't like Slytherin. He and I don't get along. If you get too close to him, he'll hurt you because he hates me."

"I don't think he hates you," Hera told him.

"It doesn't matter. Either way, you'll end up hurt." Regulus didn't tell her that it might be his other friends that hurt her.

Hera hummed a bit in answer. "He doesn't seem like such a bad guy. He's a bit like you, I think."

Regulus just shot her a glare for that one.

Across the Great Hall, Marlene, Lily, and Dorcas were staring at Sirius. "What?" he asked defensively.

"You just hit Mulciber in the head with food over a Slytherin girl," Dorcas answered. "Anyone else think that's a bit odd for him?"

"More than a bit, I'd say," Marlene responded.

"He was bothering her. I could tell," Sirius said in his defense.

"And why were you looking at her in the first place?" Marlene asked.

"She's my Potions partner! I was just looking over there for a minute."

"Uh huh," the girls said in unison. Sirius suddenly knew how other students felt when the Marauders used to look at people in that "I'm plotting something against you" sort of way.

"Hey, what are you three thinking?"

Marlene smiled. "We're not thinking anything. Nothing at all."

Sirius resolved to watch them. He knew plotting when he saw it.

~~~…~~~

Hera was already waiting by the time Sirius and the other seventh year Gryffindors made it to Potions that day. She noticed that Sirius sullenly avoided Lily as she was speaking to James.

"Hello," she greeted him quietly. "I finally got my book in the post this morning," she told him, holding it up.

Sirius sat and set his own book on the table with a bang, making Cain let out a low, feline growl of disapproval. "What are we brewing today?"

"An elixir to induce euphoria."

Sirius finally showed a wry grin. "Isn't that a sixth year potion?"

"Professor Slughorn seems to think we need to review it," she told him, shooting him a meaningful look.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"I was one of the people that had to remove the remains of your cauldron from the ceiling last year."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"It took three days!"

Sirius laughed. "Not as bad as it could have been. First year, I was brewing some kind of anti-boil potion. We kept finding mixture of ground up newt eyes and bat spleens for months."

The horrified look on her face made Sirius grin. "Why in the world would you grind up newt eyes and bat spleens for an anti-boil potion?"

"Turns out I was reading the wrong recipe. That was the one to cause boils." Sirius paused and looked up. "Or was it to cause rashes? I don't really remember."

Cain was also staring at the older Gryffindor.

"What?" he asked defensively. "I got mixed up."

Hera shook her head and smiled. "I don't know if I'm a saint or if I'm just crazy for working with you."

"It must be because you fancy me. All the girls fancy me," Sirius stated matter-of-factly.

Hera felt her cheeks grow hot and blessed her dark skin.

"Anyways, what was with my brother this morning? What did he say to you?"

Hera averted her eyes and her smile died. "Ah. He doesn't like me talking to you. Or smiling at you. Or acknowledging you exist."

"What, are you dating? Does he think I'm going to steal his girl?"

"No, Regulus and I aren't dating. I don't exactly get along with the rest of his crowd. They don't care for me much."

"But he still thinks he can control who your friends are?"

Hera studied him. "Are we friends?"

Slughorn entered at that moment, leaving Sirius to stare at Hera, astonished, as she turned to the front of the class to pay attention to what Slughorn said.

"Turn to page 154. I trust you did your homework on today's elixir. You have until the end of class to complete it. Best get started." Slughorn was jolly.

"Of course we're friends, Zabini," Sirius said as soon as Slughorn was done talking. "Why the hell else would I talk to you?"

Hera shrugged. "Because I'm good at Potions. Regulus said you hate Slytherins."

"No, I hate pompous, prejudiced pricks. You're alright."

Hera felt herself warm with pleasure. "Thanks. You're alright too. Anyways, be best get started on this. Class is only two hours and it has to brew for half that time."

Sirius watched her walk to the ingredients cabinet, then looked away when she turned back. Cain was staring at him.

"Don't give me that look," Sirius accused. "It's not like I'm hurting anything."

"Aren't you going to set up your cauldron? And why are you talking to Cain?" Hera asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Sirius quickly did as she suggested. "No reason, no reason."

~~~…~~~

Lily wasn't blind. She noticed the way Hera looked at her friend, the way she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, like Lily would sometimes look at James. Partway through class, she'd nudged Dorcas in the ribs and tilted her head toward Sirius' table.

Dorcas snickered. "Love is in the air," she muttered.

"Oh, good. I wasn't imagining it."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Dorcas asked.

"No idea."

"Do about what?" James asked, leaning over his table behind the girls to eavesdrop.

"Nothing," they said quickly.

Like his former best friend, James could spot a plot and a lie from a mile away. However, he also knew that if he wanted to learn anything, he was asking the wrong girls. "Sure…" he said, returning to his stool beside Remus. He followed the girls' gazes and spotted Hera leaning close to Sirius and explaining something. In a gesture similar to Lily's, he elbowed Remus in the ribs.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Look."

Remus' eyebrows drew together the longer he watched. "Does Sirius… have a crush?"

"I dunno. Has he ever had a crush before?"

"Well yeah. But not on a Slytherin."

"Huh."

~~~…~~~

Sirius Black had successfully made a potion. It was simmering nicely, the aroma coming off of it made him think of long nights at the Three Broomsticks and the color matched that of Hera's nearly perfectly. Hers was slightly lighter shade of puce, but his wasn't far off.

He stirred it again experimentally. "This actually worked."

Her white smile stood out against her dark skin. "Good job," she told him, proud that he'd done so well.

"I can't believe it hasn't blown up or something. My potions never turn out this well."

Slughorn wandered over. He examined both potions carefully, "hmm"-ing every now and then. He leaned over and smelled each. He examined the color and consistency.

"Excellent work Hera. Mr. Black, I see Hera is having a positive influence on you. Keep up the good work. You may bottle your potions and clean up. When that's done, feel free to start on the homework until it is time to go."

"Wow," Sirius said as their professor walked off. "I don't think he's ever been that nice to me."

"Professor Slughorn isn't so bad. He's definitely the right professor to be Slytherin's Head of House, but he's not so bad."

They cleaned up their desks and Hera sat, starting the homework. Sirius leaned back at the stool and chewed gum, every now and again popping a large bubble with a "snap!" Eventually he got bored of that and leaned his chin on his hand to stare at Hera.

"What?" she finally asked.

"You know, you ought to put a Gryffindor bead in you dreadlocks."

Hera looked at him like he was crazy. "Why in the world would I do that?"

His grin was mischievous. "So that way, while you're watching the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor and wearing your house colors, secretly, you'll still be cheering me on."

Her smile grew slowly and Sirius felt a measure of pride. "Sirius, if I did that, my housemates might kill me. But I'll still be rooting for you. Not for Gryffindor though."

They began packing up. "I can live with that," Sirius told her. She just smiled at him.

"Is it weird," he asked while they were walking, "to be in a seventh year class when you're only a sixth year?"

"Yes. No one in my house says anything because I'm friends with Regulus and he's so popular, but they look at me differently."

"How'd you end up there anyways?"

Hera thought about that, pondering how to answer. "Well…" she began slowly, "Regulus and I argued for a while last year. He's one of my only friends, you know? And if he didn't like me, then the rest of the house didn't like me. So I spent a lot of time in the potions classroom. I knew it would be pointless to learn the fifth year potions, since we would do them in class anyways, so I took an extra copy of Advanced Potion-Making from the cabinet and started on those. Professor Slughorn came in one afternoon while I was at work and figured out what I was doing. After that, he asked me to leave bottles of my potions to be evaluated. I worked through the sixth-year book last year, so I guess he decided I needed to keep being challenged."

"I can't imagine liking potions that much."

Hera smiled shyly. "It was that or hexes and I didn't think Mrs. Norris would appreciate me using her as a test subject. Not to mention Mr. Filch."

Sirius roared with laughter, eventually pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. "They might not appreciate it, but I would. That cat has it out for me, I swear."

"Mrs. Norris has the hots for poor Cain. He's scratched her so many times, but Filch has never caught him at it. I'm afraid he probably blames you."

Sirius was still smiling. "That's alright. Anything to mess with old Filchy." Sirius caught some Slytherin students watching them. He nudged Hera with his elbow as they stopped at the corner they usually parted at. "Hey, your housemates don't give you a hard time for talking to me, do they?"

Hera smiled and lied through her teeth. "No. Of course not."

Sirius, being an accomplished liar himself, always knew when someone was lying, with the occasional exception of a certain James Potter. "Sure they don't." Hera wasn't going to budge in her fib. Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright then. Just let me know if they bother you, okay? No use for you to get bullied when there might be something I can do about it."

Hera found his hand and squeezed it briefly before letting go. "Don't worry about me. I can take of myself. I do a pretty decent job of it, most times."

"Alright. Well, see you later." Sirius waved and they parted.

~~~…~~~

Hera was working very hard to ignore the whispers from her fellow Slytherin girls as she entered Charms. Her normal seat between Delia and Regulus was open, so she took it.

"So…" Delia's ice blue eyes were twinkling, "Friends with both Black brothers now, are we?"

Regulus pointedly ignored them.

"Yes," Hera answered cautiously.

"I bet Sirius Black is a fantastic kisser." Delia's perfect smile shone. "I bet he'd be great to meet in a broom closet after curfew, too."

"I do not want to hear this," Regulus growled.

Delia leaned around Hera. "Then don't listen," she told him, smiling sweetly. She returned to her normal position. "So, how would you like to be dear Regulus' sister-in-law? Maybe they'd put him back on the tapestry if he married a pure-blood like you."

Hera gaped at her friend. "Sirius Black is not going to ask me to meet him in any broom closets!" she hissed.

"He better not," Regulus muttered.

Hera choked back a groan and started taking notes instead of listening to her friends bicker.

~~~…~~~

Lily and Marlene met by the lake after classes. The weather was cooling off, but in the late afternoon sun, it was still nice out.

"You and Dorcas and now Sirius? Love really is in the air, isn't it?"

"I suppose. What about you? Isn't there anyone you're thinking of?"

"Yes, someone back home." Marlene leaned back onto her elbows and looked up at the sky. "He's a muggle though. Times like this, I would put him in danger if I ever said anything about it to him."

Lily put an arm around her friend. "Things will get better. Does he know that you're a witch?"

"Of course not. I mean, I would tell him if we ever got together, but until then…"

"Yeah."

They watched the wind make little ripples in the lake for a moment. "What do you think about Dorcas and this Quidditch bloke?" Marlene asked.

"I don't know. It's odd how she seems so vehement about meeting him."

"Maybe it's fate then. Really fate, I mean. I've never seen her get this way about anyone before."

"Neither have I."

"And what about you and James?"

"I don't know." Lily plucked a blade of grass and rolled it between her fingers. "I'm worried about Sirius, to be completely honest. He hasn't been sleeping in the head dorm and I know he hasn't been sleeping in the Gryffindor dorm. And Snape told me that he knows why the Marauders were angry at him last year."

"When did you talk to Snape?"

"The first patrol I went on with James. He was in the Potions classroom."

"Sounds like he was up to something."

"I know."

"Lily… I think you should avoid him at all costs. He's one of the bad guys now. He's not the friend you had as a kid."

Lily shook her head. "What if he's not though? What if he isn't a Death Eater yet? If I can still help him, shouldn't I try? I might be the only one he would listen to."

"No, Lily," Marlene said firmly. "He made his choice when he called you a Mudblood. Even if he hasn't pledged himself to You-Know-Who yet, at least some of his friends have. If they saw him with you, not only would you be in danger, but he would too."

Her friend sighed. "I know you're right. I just can't help feeling like I should do something. Less than a year until we're out in the real world and I can't get over this feeling that I should already be fighting."

"I know how you feel." Marlene grabbed Lily's hand. "You and me, we'll take on the world. I'll have your back and you'll have mine and the Death Eaters won't even know what's coming."

That got a smile from Lily. "Right."

"But before that, dinner. I'm starved."

Lily laughed and they got to their feet. "Food it is then."

James was waiting at the entrance to the Great Hell. "Mind if I borrow her a moment, McKinnon?"

With a nod from Lily, Marlene entered the Great Hall. "Play nice."

"Walk with me a minute, will you?" James asked.

"Okay." She followed him away from the hustle and bustle of students trying to get to dinner. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

James tucked his hands into his pockets. "Do you know what's up with Sirius and that Slytherin girl?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No. Do you know something about her that I don't?"

"Maybe… She's best friends with Regulus, Sirius' brother. Regulus is major into Dark Arts. I've heard some bad rumors about him, that maybe he already has the Dark Mark."

"Do you think she's trying to spy on Sirius for him?"

"No. She seems afraid of the other Slytherins. But I think that if they start to believe she's getting too close to a blood traitor, she'll be in danger."

Lily was surprised to find she was a little jealous of James' concern for the younger girl. "What about Sirius, aren't you even a little worried about him?"

James snorted. "Sirius can take care of himself. He's craftier than you'd think."

"If you think so… Anyways, did you just call me out here to ask about Sirius?"

He took a hand out of his pocket and rubbed at his hair, making it into even more of a mess. "Honestly, no. That just came out."

"What else then?"

"I'd like you to go on a date with me. A real one. To Hogsmeade."

"You asked me to walk with you so you could ask me out?"

"Yes. Privately."

"Well, no."

He tucked his hands back into his pockets. "Oh. I just thought, you know… We were getting along again."

Lily crossed her arms. "I've been told to make you work for it."

"Work for it," he repeated.

"Yes."

A slow grin grew across his face. "Alright then. And how am I supposed to 'work for it?'"

"You'll figure it out. But there's going to be one thing you have to do before I go out with you."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to dinner. I'm starved."

James kept pace with her. "What do I have to do?"

"You're an intelligent boy, Potter. Think on it." Lily was trying to hide her smile.

"Alright, alright. I will then."

He stopped her right outside the Great Hall and drew close to her. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, making Lily catch her breath. "You and your hair are ruddy brilliant. I'll figure it out, count on that."

They entered the hall and went their separate way, Lily to her friends, James to his.

"What was that about?" Remus asked.

"I asked her out," James said, smiling.

"What did she say?" Peter asked, leaning across the table in suspense.

"She said 'no.'"

Remus and Peter exchanged an is-he-crazy look. "Then why are you grinning like a fool?"

"She said I had to work for it."

Remus smiled too. "I see."

Peter looked back and forth between the two boys. He didn't see it at all.

Marlene took one look at the smile on Lily's face and smiled with her. "I told you he'd ask you."

"I said no," Lily said smugly.

"Good for you. Make him ask a couple times," Dorcas told her.

"It's more than that," Lily said. "He has to forgive Sirius too."

"Speaking of, where is our former-Marauder friend?" Dorcas asked, looking around. "Isn't he supposed to help us figure out how to get to the Quidditch game next week?"

"He's been disappearing a lot lately. I'm worried about him," Lily confided quietly to her friends.

"I'm sure he's fine…"

Dorcas might have thought so, but Lily wasn't sure. She wasn't the only one that noticed he wasn't at dinner.

Hera tried to convince herself that it was just Regulus' comments that made her look for his brother at dinner. It wasn't working so well, especially since Delia kept taunting Regulus about it.

"Hera could be your sister-in-law. Wouldn't that be cozy?" Delia asked, poking Regulus with her fork. He turned it into a snake which she dropped. It raced off across the Slytherin table, causing a few people to shriek.

Snape turned the reptile back into a fork. "Black, refrain from Transfiguring the silver."

"Sorry about that," Regulus called. The twinkle in his eye brought out the similarities to his brother.

Cain had followed the fork-turned-snake with interest. He returned to Hera in disgust at his hunt being subverted after receiving a quick pet from Snape.

Delia was glaring at Regulus. "I hate you. You know how I don't like snakes."

"That was the point."

Hera grabbed her plate and stood without warning. "I'm going to leave early. I'll see you all later."

Delia and Regulus watched her go. "She's acting odd. I don't like it."

Delia chuckled. "Of course you don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Regulus, I know you both really well. I can see that you think about her as more than just a friend."

"If you see so much, then why is she acting odd?"

Delia just rolled her eyes and didn't answer.

~~~…~~~

Hera didn't know what compelled her to go looking for Sirius, but she found herself wandering onto the grounds. The moon was near full and lit her way. She went to the Forbidden Forest and walked along the edge of it, following it to the Quidditch pitch. She figured a Quidditch player might go there when he wanted to avoid other people.

She was correct. Sirius was there with his broom. He'd obviously just gotten back to the ground because his hair was coming down from its mini-ponytail.

"Hi," Hera called shyly.

Sirius turned. "What are you doing out here?"

Hera shrugged. "I brought you some food. I didn't mean to bother you."

The boy plopped to the ground. "It's fine. You can join me I guess."

Hera sat down gingerly, not wanting Sirius to get upset. "I won't stay if you don't want me to."

Sirius pulled a roll from the plate. "It's fine."

Hera watched him eat. "Are you avoiding the Great Hall for a reason?"

He pushed the plate toward her to encourage her to take something. She took a stalk of broccoli. "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Alright," Hera said, pushing the plate towards him again.

"Is this your dinner?"

"Yep."

"Did you eat any of it?"

"Some."

Cain wandered up, startling Sirius. He meowed and Hera gave him a small piece of chicken.

"You should eat more, Zabini."

She tore another piece of chicken for Cain. "I don't like eating."

"That's a lie. You can't not like eating."

"I don't."

Sirius shook his head. "That's cuz you get the Slytherin food."

Hera smiled. "Slytherin food?"

"Yeah, the house elves give you guys the worst food. We should go to the kitchen so you can get the good stuff."

"I should return the plate anyways."

"Let's wait until after dinner. They'll be less busy so we can get them to make us something good," Sirius told her, eating the last of her dinner. He leaned back in the grass, one hand on his broom, the other on his abdomen.

Hera lay back too, petting Cain. Her eyes tracked a thestral mother and baby as they flew. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Sure."

"Do you see thestrals?"

"No. Do you?"

"Yeah."

"Who did you see die?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Sirius turned his head to look at her and his hand stopped hers as she was petting Cain. "Alright."

Hera watched the thestrals and Sirius watched the stars.

Dinner was finishing up in the Great Hall. James caught up with Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas as they were leaving.

"Instead of a date, how about the three of you hang out with the three of us at Hogsmeade?" James asked, gesturing to Remus and Peter, who were trying to catch up.

The three girls looked at one another. "So we can follow you from Zonko's to the Shrieking Shack? No thanks, sounds boring," Dorcas answered for them.

"We'll take you to Madam Puddiworth's or whatever it's called," James offered, following them.

"Says who?" Remus asked. "I won't be seen in there."

James nudged him. "Yeah you will."

"Have you considered not everyone likes Madam Puddifoot's?" Marlene asked.

"I figured you'd love it," James said. "You're so…"

"Girly," supplied Peter.

"Exactly."

"Thanks," Marlene said wryly. "Did you happen to consider I have more than two brain cells and anyone that likes that place doesn't seem to?"

Dorcas snorted. "The problem is that Peter and Potter share their two brain cells. Even Remus being with them can't make up for that."

"I try, but it's difficult," Remus responded.

"Thanks for the support, Moony."

The group went up to Gryffindor Tower together. Lily and Marlene shared Marlene's Potion book to work on their homework. Dorcas sat with them and read a Quidditch magazine. Peter buried himself in a corner with his homework. James kicked two first years out of the armchairs by the fire and he and Remus settled into them.

"What do you think she wants me to figure out?" James asked his lycanthrope friend.

Remus snorted and shook his head. "You are a fool, Prongs."

"Why? What do you know that I don't?"

"A lot more than I thought, apparently."

"Come on, a hint, a clue, something."

"Think about it. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"If I don't? Will you help me then?"

"Maybe."

~~~…~~~

Sirius led the way to the kitchen, the plate in one hand, Hera's hand in the other. In the dimly lit halls, with the blessing of her chocolate skin, he couldn't see her blush.

"Here we are," he told her when they arrived. He lifted her hand and ran her fingers down the pear. As it giggled, Sirius turned to Hera in time to see her smile. The portrait swung open and Sirius helped her through.

They were immediately accosted by house elves.

"Mr. Padfoot, sir. What can we get you?"

"Mr. Padfoot?" Hera asked.

"Long story," he told her with a grin. "What do you want to eat?"

Soon they were seated with a miniature feast. Hera helped herself to a Spanish dish Sirius called paella, while he ate whatever was in front of him at the time. Hera stole a piece of his ham to give to Cain. When they finished with their entrees, the house elves brought them a black forest cake.

"Enjoy eating now?" Sirius asked as they ate the cake. He hadn't missed the fact that she still only ate about half of what went on her plate, with the exception of the cake.

"Better than the Slytherin food."

"I told you. They don't like you snakes as much."

"Why do they like you so much then?"

"They like to spoil me. We let them feed us whatever."

"We?"

"Me, Remus, and the rest," he told her. He looked at her as he swirled a glass of milk. "You know, you don't seem like you fit in Slytherin. You aren't as snakey as the rest."

"Snakey?"

"You know – sly, ambitious, without boundaries."

"You make it sound so bad. Resourcefulness is also a trait for Slytherin students."

"Why Slytherin though?"

"Don't forget the Sorting Hat takes your desires into consideration too."

"Then I really have to ask why you picked Slytherin," he replied.

Hera accidently nudged his foot under the table. "For my family. If I was in Slytherin, the rest of the world wouldn't question whether or not I am my father's daughter. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, through your family."

"Zabini," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Your dad disappeared over Christmas holiday your first year, right?"

"Yes."

"Huh," Sirius said, studying her. "The Zabinis are a pure-blood family, right?"

"Yes." Zabini looked down at her hands. "I'm afraid there might be some Death Eaters on my father's side of the family."

"You're not the only one. They're everywhere now."

"I know."

They sat in silence for a moment, Hera scraping the remains of icing from her plate and Sirius swirling his milk like he wished it was something stronger.

"Ah, well. Nothing we can do about them. May as well just enjoy ourselves. Feel up to a late night jaunt to Hogsmeade?"

He got Hera to smile again, which was his goal. "Not tonight. Rain check on that, maybe?"

"Sure. We'll have to be sneaky about it though. Don't want the rest of your House to get jealous."

"Why would they get jealous?"

"Everyone knows I'm never seen in public with a snake."

"I guess that means I'm special."

"Oh, definitely." Sirius stood and offered his hand with a bow. "Shall we?"

Hera placed her hand in his. "Alright."

"Want me to walk you back to your common room? Never know who might be out and about."

"I am not surprised that you know where the Slytherin common room is. But I think I can walk myself back. I'll see you later." She drew her hand from his and waved goodbye while she walked away. Sirius watched until she turned the corner then headed for Lily and James' dorm.

~~~…~~~

"Ugh," Lily groaned over her Transfiguration homework. Dorcas had finally set down her magazine and was working on homework as well. "This is horrible."

"What did you get for number nine?" Dorcas asked, leaning to try to see.

"You're already at number nine? I'm still working on five!" Lily told her friend.

Marlene looked up from Dorcas' magazine. "I gave up half an hour ago."

James plopped down beside Lily. "Need a bit of help here, ladies?" He slid Lily's book in front of him. "Number five's easy. That's Multicorfors."

Dorcas scratched out her answer and wrote James' instead. "What about number nine?"

Lily took her book back from James. "I don't think we need your help."

"If you let me help you, I'll let you help me with my Potions homework."

"That's just you trying to get me to do your homework for you. No," Lily answered.

"Alright then. About what I asked you earlier… You haven't happened to change your mind have you? Remus has figured it out, but I'm lost."

"No. Figure it out on your own, the same way you'll have to figure out the Potions homework on your own."

"Fine, fine." James sat and watched them do their homework until he got bored. Then he began doing the transfigurations from each problem Lily was working on. After the third one, she elbowed him in the ribs, hard. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're being obnoxious," she told him, exasperated. "Go bother Remus."

"He's helping Peter with his homework."

"Maybe you ought to do your homework then."

"Already done. Couldn't sleep last night."

"Wow, James Potter not able to sleep and doing homework instead of wreaking havoc on the castle. I think he's actually growing up!" Marlene exclaimed, turning the magazine sideways. She nudged Dorcas. "Did you seriously put a heart with the initials "DBM" and "GM" in them?"

Dorcas snatched the magazine from Marlene. "Shut up."

James took the magazine from her. "Gershon Meadowes, huh? I never figured you for an Ireland fan."

"You shut up too."

"Are you going to the Ireland vs. Bulgaria game then?" James asked, letting her have the magazine.

"Not that it's your business, but yeah. Lily and I are going. She's never been to a professional Quidditch game before."

"Really? That's not the game to go to them. You want to see the Cannons."

"Whatever. Ireland's got it in the bag this year."

Marlene and Lily exchanged a look and rolled their eyes as the banter continued.

~~~…~~~

Regulus was still up when Hera returned to the Slytherin dorms. "Did you find him?"

"Who?" Hera asked innocently, taking a seat across from him.

Regulus raised an eyebrow at her. "You know."

She shrugged. "Up for a game of Wizard Chess?" she asked by way of changing the subject.

It wasn't long before he was beating her soundly. "This is pathetic," Black scoffed. "You still haven't gotten any better at this."

"I don't have as much practice as you," the pretty black girl told him as he won. "You just taught me to play last year, remember. And mum doesn't know how either."

Regulus sighed and closed his eyes. "You must have some redeeming quality. You are in Slytherin and friends with me. No good at chess, no ambition… how did you get into this house?"

Hera smiled wryly. "I have plenty of ambition. I just don't share it all with you. And I'm great at Potions. Slughorn's been comparing me to Evans and Snape for years. Not to mention my curses."

Regulus laughed and Snape joined them at the table. "Want to play a decent opponent?"

Hera smiled. "Our esteemed prefect joins us."

Regulus waved his wand and the chess pieces reset themselves, shoving one another and bickering as they went to their proper places. "Black," Regulus told Snape.

His friend laughed and Severus looked between the two of them. Hera caught the look. "It's his favorite bad pun. He thinks it's hilarious when I respond with, 'No, I am.'"

Severus looked between the two of them again. "She's serious," He said in disbelief when he saw Regulus' grin.

"No, that would be my brother."

Hera groaned.

"Shut up and make your move," Snape said, after he instructed a piece to move.

The boys played efficiently. It was obvious they both knew what they were doing. Hera watched quietly, studying each boy's face as he thought about his next move. When the pieces got too boisterous, a quick flick of the wand put them in their place.

Their thoughtful gazes made Hera smile. Regulus was obviously the more handsome with his fit body, silky hair and tan skin along with his seeker's mind and reflexes but Hera studied Snape as well. His hair was lank, slightly greasy and his nose was hooked but his intelligence shone through his dark eyes. It was a fair match.

In the end, it was Regulus who won. Quietly, the boys reset the pieces and started again. Hera sat to the side and read their Defense Against the Dark Arts book. The trio was silent as the common room emptied out slowly. Around one in the morning, the boys finished one last game and leaned back, stretching.

"Three and two," Regulus said speculatively. "You are better than Hera."

"Some of the owls are better than Zabini."

"Thank you, very nice Snape."

Regulus was still thinking about that. "You know, I bet my owl is one of them."

"Reg, I thought you'd be on my side!"

"He's telling the truth Hera. You're bloody awful."

Snape snorted. "Get to bed. Class in the morning."

Regulus left the chess set where it was and offered his hand to Hera. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. "See you tomorrow."

"Ha. Not bloody likely, traitor."

Regulus smiled and kissed Hera on the cheek. "You know you'll forgive me by the time breakfast starts."

Hera went up to the girl's dormitories, leaving Severus and Regulus below. Evan Rosier joined them.

"Does your girlfriend know you've joined the Dark Lord?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Regulus responded. Snape thought he heard a certain amount of regret in that. "And no. I don't think she much approves of Death Eaters."

"That is a problem, Regulus. If she's not for us, she's against us. Don't let her sway you from our path. I've been told the Dark Lord has high hopes for you." Rosier sneered as he said that. Everyone could see Voldemort drawing the Blacks closer and closer. Bellatrix Black – Lestrange now – was already rising in the ranks of Death Eaters, along with her husband.

Regulus turned away. "She's just a girl. The Dark Lord is my master."

~~~…~~~

How long has it been since I've updated? 5 months, wow… I apologize for that.

My life is finally getting back on track, meaning I am much happier and less stressed, but I am also much busier. Hopefully I will get on some sort of schedule again. I love this story quite a bit, you know.