Two in one night. Hopefully I'm starting to make up for being silent for so long. OC's are the only things that are mine.
(Cienna's POV)
He was poking her.
Again.
Why do I get stuck next to the idiot?
It was Black. All he had done for the entire first half of Transfiguration was poke her. Nonstop.
It was driving her mad.
Just because he was bored didn't mean she should have to be distracted. And they were learning about Animagi.
She mentally sighed. They were bound to be tested on Animagi. Typical. Urgh, I'm gonna kill Black.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing that insufferable trademark smirk whilst watching her. He wants me to ask him to stop. No going to happen.
5 minutes later.
Still not happening Black.
5 more minutes later.
Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do...
"Can you stop? Please." She said in a whisper.
...it.
His smirk only widened. "Was that a mouse squeaking?"
Her lips tightened.
"Please. Can you stop?" She said, marginally louder.
"Getting better. More like an owl now."
"Black. Stop it now." Louder. He blinked before grinning like a maniac.
And standing up.
In the middle of McGonagall's lesson.
"Sorry to interrupt Minnie but I had to share the wonderful news with the class. I'm sure you have all been as worried as me about Little Miss Pipsqueak over here now being able to speak. But do not fear, for speak she can. Only now she uttered four words to me. Four whole words! It's a miracle. An absolutely incredible-"
"BLACK. GET OUT. NOW" McGonagall screeched. And then, to the class, "Write up notes on what I have just told you whilst I deal with Mr Black here." And with that she swept out of the room after Sirius.
The class waited in silence until she left, then burst into noise. All eyes seemed focused on Cienna and she could feel her face burning.
"Cee, you okay?" Lily's concerned face looked at her as she turned round in her seat to look at her younger friend.
"I'm going to kill him." She muttered, just loud enough for Lily to hear.
"Of course you will." Lily said, humouring her.
xXx
The rest of the lesson went by excruciatingly slowly for Cienna. She could feel stares burning into her back and she fought down the urge to flee the room. Black never came back into the room.
I'm going to make him pay.
As soon as the bell went she stood up, sweeping her things into her bag.
"Are you okay?" Alice.
"Black's an idiot sweetie, ignore him." Marlene.
"He didn't mean to be cruel, I'm sure...I think." Mary.
She didn't answer, just started to leave the room. The other girls looked at each other, and then hurried to catch up with their friend before she did something she'd regret.
xXx
He was waiting outside the classroom, leaning against the wall with that stupid, ugly, idiotic smirk on his face. He straightened up as he saw her leave the room.
"Morning love. And how are you today?" He asked cockily.
"Black..." A warning from Remus, who could see Cienna was angry.
She looked up and down the corridor. No one was there, apart from her friends and the Marauders. She took a breath. Don't do anything stupid girl.
"What? She won't do anything. She's as meek as a mouse."
DO something. NOW. She raised her wand as she half shouted,
"AVIS. OPPUGNO."
A flock of golden birds hurtled out of the end of her wand and flew like bullets towards Sirius. His smirk disappeared and he held his hands out but the birds attacked, pecking and clawing at all of him that they could reach.
"And for your information Black, right now I'm feeling wonderful." And with that she walked off.
"Ouch. Wait. How in Merlin's beard do, ouch, I get rid of, ow, these? Wait...Ouch. Damn bloody birds. Ow, get off me." Sirius's voice echoed down the corridor after her.
Her friends looked at each other in amazement.
"Forgot to say, Black. Don't get Cee angry. She has a little bit of a temper. Have a great day." Marlene laughed as the girls hurried after their friend.
The door to McGonagall's classroom opened just after the girls left and the Professor left the room.
"Professor, can you help..." Sirius started, wincing.
The corners of her mouth turned up.
"Sorry Mr Black but I think it would be safer if you got Professor Flitwick to help you with that. He is a charms teacher after all. He should be in his classroom if you hurry." The boys turned to hurry off when she called after them,
"Tell Miss Evenstar she just earned Gryffindor five points. Her charms work is impeccable." She chuckled to herself. Good for the girl, biting back for once.
xXx
Emmy, Marlene, Lily and Cienna were sitting in the common room that evening. Lily and Marlene were doing homework, and Emmy and Cienna were playing chess. Everything was lovely and peaceful. The fire was burning bright in the hearth and the warm room had the satisfied feel of a cat with a bowl of cream. Emmy and Cienna were so into their game they didn't notice Remus and James sit down next to them.
"Evening girls." James said.
"I thought you said you were all growing up?" Emmy said, frowning, before finding a place for her knight to move to.
"Um, well, I am. Remus doesn't need to and as for the other two...Well; they'll mature when they do."
"Wise words Potter. When did you get so clever?" Emmy asked, before groaning. "How come you always win?" Cienna had just checkmated her king.
"I don't always win."
"Nine times out of ten." Cienna shrugged.
"How about you have a game with Remus over here whilst I talk to my favourite sister who isn't actually my sister. Move over Cee, go on Lupey, grab that seat."
"Lupey?" Remus looked at his friend incredulously. "Really?"
"What? It's nice." James grinned. Remus shook his head and started setting up the chess board for another game whilst talking lightly with Emmy. Cienna smiled slightly for a moment. It was blatantly obvious that Emmy like liked Remus, and that he liked her. It was just getting them both to realise each other's feelings. It was something she and James had spoken about during their evening talks.
They were a new thing. Ever since James had said those things and Cienna had gotten ill he had made time to talk with her every evening. It was just idle chat, normally James' idle chat and Cienna just listening with the occasional input.
But this evening that was a little different. James pulled her over to the corner of the common room and sat her down, then pulled a chair across for him.
"I just wanted to say, you were blinking amazing earlier. Where did you even learn that charm? Can you teach it to me? 'Cause I know Padfoot's my friend and everything but it really kicked ar...Butt."
He looked so eager, like a little puppy that she couldn't help but smile. This was the James she loved.
"It's simple. I'll show it to you one night when no one's down here." She murmured.
"Brilliant. That way I can bully Padfoot into anything. Ha. We had to trail all over the school looking for Flitwick so he could remove the charm. Oh, McGonagall said you'd earned five points for Gryffindor Said your charm work was impeccable."
Cienna looked at him for a minute before smiling. A proper big smile. She couldn't meet his eyes.
"What's so funny?"
"Impeccable – im-peck-able." She was fighting not to laugh now.
"You have a weird sense of humour Cee." But James was smiling too.
The two childhood friends sat there, enjoying each other's company, unaware that they were being observed.
"They look happy, don't they?" Lily said to Marlene.
"Hmmm."
"James is really good for her, you know." Lily commented again, after a few minutes.
"HA! You called him James. Not Potter!" Marlene threw her parchment down in joy.
"Well, well, you see," Lily was getting all flustered, "Seeing as he was acting so grown up and mature I thought it would make sense if I started calling him his first name. More civil." She blushed.
"Uh huh." Marlene would have said more but the opening of the portrait hole and the entering of a certain Sirius Black stopped her.
"Watch out." She muttered to Lily, keeping an eye on Black as he crossed the room to where James sat with Cienna.
"This could end in trouble." Lily said, picking up her wand.
xXx
James was just recounting how they'd begged Flitwick to stop the charm, which included Sirius going down and begging on his knees when a shadow fell over them. They looked up to see James' best friend and partner in crime standing in front of them, his hands in bandages.
Cienna looked at his hands, and felt really guilty. She hadn't meant to really hurt him. Well, she had, but not so badly that he'd have to go to Madam Pomfrey. She risked a glance at his face. His face was relatively blank, which wasn't good. He was always smirking or smiling. And his eyes held a mix of anger, sorrow, pain and maybe a slight hint of betrayal.
She sighed very softly. She knew what she had to do.
(Sirius' POV)
He saw them as soon as he stepped into the room. His hands stung like hell and so did his pride. Made a fool of, by a girl no less. He wasn't going to live that one down in a hurry. All he wanted to do was go and fall down on his bed and sleep. But he couldn't just pass those two by.
So he didn't.
He walked over to them. To his surprise, and anger, they hadn't noticed him. And to make it all worse, his so called best mate was telling her the humiliating story of him getting Flitwick to get rid of those damn charmed birds. He was getting ready to say something when she looked up. At his hands first, then his face.
He forgot what he had been about to say. The smile fell off her lips quick as lightning. Emotions flashed through her eyes, quick, fleeting. She sighed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any pain." Her voice, quiet, rung in his ears. Of everything he had expected her to say, or not to say, sorry was not it. He hadn't in a thousand years expected her to apologise.
I should say sorry too. Wait, where did that come from. I never apologise, apart from to James or Remus every now and again.
Still, I should say sorry.
But by the time he finished his mental ponderings she had gone.
He looked at James.
"Where'd she go?"
Cienna showing some spirit. Yay! More soon.
Megs
