Disclaimer: I don't own the Marauders, Madame Pomfrey, the Beatles, Hogsmeade or Hogwarts. Neither do I own Quidditch or the Room of Requirement.
Sirius Black
November 10th, 1977
Halloween slowly rolled around, and Shane was enthusiastic about the whole dress-up thing. She insisted that James, Remus, Peter and I go as a muggle band (which was also popular in the wizarding world) titled the Beatles. She went as a muggle-version witch, and we all laughed up a storm. I ended up asking Sam to be my date to the Hogsmeade trip that weekend. I guess I was just going back through the list now.
But, things began to wind down. Until three days ago. Three days ago, Dumbledore announced that the first Quidditch match of the season was going to be held on Wednesday, which was today. James had us training as much as we could, and I barely had enough time to copy Shane's homework.
It wasn't exactly the match that had Gryffindors and Slytherins buzzing in a fit of joy, though. It was what was going on in the Room of Requirement afterwards. Shane, being the show off and spot-light-hog she was, had arranged for an all student concert after the game. That is why people were so excited.
To tell you the truth, I was excited, too. I'd always heard James go on and on about her singing and performing talents, but I'd never actually heard any of it. I wanted to hear, and I intended to, whether we lost or not.
Currently, I was sitting on a broom with the wind whipping in my face. I kept swinging my bat at nothing, trying to get my new armguards to feel right. I'd had them for little over a month, and they weren't quite broken in yet.
"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Yelled the announcer, a fifth year Ravenclaw named Montez. "A wonderful shot by Potter! Let's go James!"
"Woo!" I howled, cupping a single hand beside my mouth. "That's it, Prongs!"
Then, a streak of brown. I leaned backwards, narrowly missing the Bludger that soared past my face. I watched it carefully as it soared through the air, headed towards a Slytherin. I glanced in the opposite direction at my fellow beater, Alec Johansson.
"And Gryffindor wins!" Montez screamed over the crowd. "Winters has caught the Snitch! The game is over!"
I pulled my hands together, and almost fell off my broom. I could hear Shane and Sam over the crowd. They were chanting.
"Black's an attack, but Potter's kinda hotter!" Their rhymes were horrible, but I admired the effort. So, I soared over beside them, screaming their goofy chants as well.
"And James is not hotter than me!" I yelled at Shane, swinging my broom out from beneath me and standing beside her. She attacked my arm.
"Alright, you caught me!" She yelled back, jumping on top of me and screaming her chants again.
Everyone was screaming, bouncing and dancing to the beat of the song playing the background. There was a disco ball above our heads, sending little lights all over the place. Sam was pulling me out of the crowd, toward the entrance of the Room of Requirement.
"There's something I need to tell you." She said after we'd separated ourselves from the crowd.
There was something about her, something different. She'd seemed more confident for the past two weeks. She and Shane had been spending a lot of time together. I took that as a good thing. Shane was my best friend, and I wanted Sam to know her.
"Let's do this quick, like pulling off a Band-Aid." She was smiling, but it was sympathetically. She was happy, but sad, too. "We're done."
"What?" I didn't understand what she'd just said, not one bit.
"We're done. The relationship is over." My eyes went wide. That's what she meant, was it? Well, this was a strange twist in my love life. I'd never been dumped before. "I want to see other people."
"Oh…" I mumbled, staring at her with awestruck eyes. "I… I get it… Yea, other people." I shook my head and brought myself gently back to earth. "Alright, good on you, mate. Friends?"
She smiled, nodded, and shook my hand. "Now, I have to go." I watched as she turned and left the hallway, walking back into the Room of Requirement with her head held high.
It didn't really hurt, watching her leave. I actually felt a little freer. So, I walked back into the Room with a smirk on my face. I was thinking about having some fun tonight, if you know what I mean.
"And, without further ado, Shane Spencer!" James cheered as he stood on the stage that had formed in the room. Shane popped up from the crowd and appeared beside him, smiling. She looked in her element here, in a midst of people and fans.
"Hello!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, making the floor shake slightly. "Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"I can't hear you!"
"YES!"
"Alright!" The crowd of students was going wild. I couldn't believe how good she was at manipulating feelings. Wait, yes I could. She'd done it once before. Made me feel like crap. All by pretending to cry. "Alright, settle down! SETTLE DOWN, ALL YOU GITS!"
"Handled that well." I muttered, shoving my hands into the pockets on my jeans.
"First, I have a very special guest. She's not well known, in fact, she's not known at all. Yet, she's a talent I envy very, very much. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Samantha Josephs!"
Sam jumped onto the stage with a smile on her face, waving her hands at people she knew. She looked phenomenal beneath the spot lights, but my heart didn't ache. This was normal for me. What wasn't normal was how my heart reacted when I took a closer look at Shane.
She was wearing a tan polo and really, really short cut off jeans. Normally, she wore cargo shorts or something of the like. I'd never seen her legs before. They were long, lean and well structured. That was something every man desired at least once in his life.
"Sam and I wrote this song together, and it took hazardous months. I'm actually rather sick of it. But, we'll perform it anyways." She said, smiling and pulling her shoulders into a shrug. "Hope you enjoy it." She handed the microphone to Sam and carefully stepped to a large, black piano.
Shane closed her eyes as she gently pressed down on the ivory keys. Sam held the microphone to her mouth, and sang a wonderful tune into it.
I was amazed. Sam had never told anyone that she could sing. Well, she'd never told me. I was happy to hear her singing, but what mystified me was the sound that Shane's made. Her voice was deep for a girl (obviously not like mine), yet it sounded light and girly when she sang. It was a beautiful sound.
The song ended sooner than I thought it would, I guess I slipped into my head. "Thank you, Sam!" Shane was beaming, her eyes full of light and happiness, it was enough to bring me to smile myself. "And, now, at request of my wonderful, amazing, talented friend and number-one-fan, James Potter, I'm going to play a song that I haven't played in a while. How many of you know Perfect Two?"
Perfect Two? A love song? That hardly sounded like Shane. Shane didn't write love songs, did she? It wasn't what I expected from her. I expected songs about world peace and crap like that. Maybe even something about death, but not love.
"Alright, well, I can give it a go. But, like I said, I haven't performed it in a long, long time." Suddenly, she had a guitar strap around her neck. "Thank you, James." She began to strum, and I already knew I'd like it. When her voice added into the sound, I felt the walls I'd built up crumble without detest.
As the song ended, I was left with my heart melting and my knees wobbly. It was Shane's voice. It was the feeling she put into her lyrics. I knew that she'd felt this way about someone once, and I knew that that someone had broken her heart. I wanted to find him, and then kill him slowly.
But, I was pulled out of my little anger fest as she spoke again. I made sure to listen as close as I could, memorize the sound of her voice.
"And, now, we're going to start the party." She said into the microphone, the guitar disappearing again. Music began in the background, and Shane shook her legs out. Then, she sang a tune that was extremely different from everything else I'd heard so far.
"I wanna lie in my bed, and do nothing…" This time, she was dancing. And she kept shooting random boys flirtatious looks. It made me feeling a little angry. Just a little, though. "I got you on my mind, thinking 'bout one thing… Gonna show you how I do it best." Now, she was swinging her hips in circles. "Put my lips on your mouth. Keep you coming around, 'cause I like it, yeah! Put your hands on my hips. Take me down, sink this ship. Boy I can't resist!"
The song sank from my brain as she jumped off the stage and danced over to a fellow seventh year, Austin Mira. She grabbed his hand and set it on her hip. I felt my nails dig into my palm and my knuckles turn white. They were dancing too close. Their faces were too close. Back up, Shane! Back up!
He ran his hand through her hair and that was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to leave, get out of that room as fast as I could. I turned my back on them and left the room as quickly as I could without looking suspicious.
As I stomped down the halls, I tried to contain my feelings. Feelings? For what, Shane? No, I didn't have feelings for Shane. Shane was Shane, my best mate, and that was it. My… southern hemisphere was talking (or thinking) for me.
But, if I didn't fancy her, why did I feel so jealous of Austin? Wait, Austin was like me. He jumped from girl to girl, too. That's why I didn't like the idea of those two. I didn't fancy her at all, I was just protective. I didn't want him to hurt her. But, wasn't that a sort of love anyways? Hey, where did the idea of love come from?
"Arg!" I groaned. I stopped and threw my fist into the stone wall to my right. I heard a small crack and pain shot through my arm, but I didn't care. I just needed to get all of these crazy ideas out of my head.
I threw my back against the same wall and slowly slid to the floor. I set my head in my left hand (seeing as my right was at least sprained) and sighed. When I looked up, I tried to figure out where I was.
I could see the greenhouse windows down the hall slightly, and I was shocked at how far I'd gone. The Room of Requirement was on the Seventh Floor, and the Herbology Greenhouses were on the First Floor.
Accidentally, I brushed my right hand against a bench beside me and I gasped in pain. I wanted to go to the Hospital Wing, but I didn't. I couldn't. I had to just sit there, and think things over. I had to understand what was going on in my heart.
"Sirius!" And snap, my heart broke. That voice was so familiar, so perfect. It was too good. "Sirius, what're you doing out here?"
I glanced over at her, and my heart sewed itself back together. "Nothing, just got a headache." That was a lie.
"Alright, but headaches don't do that to your hand." She stepped over to me and knelt beside my bent knees. She grabbed my hand, and the air in my chest froze. "What happened?" She lightly touched my swelling, purple knuckle.
"I… um…" I tried to think of an excuse, but I couldn't. "I, ah, punched the wall."
She stared at me with that look on her face. "Alright, I'll let that lie slide for now." She flipped my hand and trailed her fingers on my palm. "Let's get you to the hospital wing."
"What about your show? There are people that want to see you."
"No, you're more important." She said, carefully helping me to my feet. Four words could make my heart slow down and speed up at the same time, but only if they came from her. "Plus, they've got Sam to entertain them."
"No, I really think you should-"
"Stop that, I'm taking you to the hospital wing whether you like it or not." Her brow was furrowed and she looked serious. I knew by now that it would be best just to oblige and follow her. So, I sighed and started walking with her.
"So, what'd you think?" She asked as she ran her hand through her hair. I scowled at the memory of Austin.
"It was great." I answered in a monotonous voice. Really, I'd thought the show was amazing, Austin was just stuck in my brain.
"So you didn't like it, huh?"
"What, no, I loved it!" I yelped as I turned to her. There was a shy smile on her face, and that was a strange thing. Shane was never shy. "Really, the show was amazing."
Now, her smile was genuine and special. It was one of those smiles that made me feel like the only guy in the world. I really liked that feeling.
"That song you and Sam performed, what was it called?"
"Jar of Hearts, it's called Jar of Hearts." She answered. "And, believe it or not, it's about you." And I was interested. Just like that, I wanted to know more. "Sam still likes you, you know. She just wants to get over you."
"Wait, why me?" I asked, remembering the lyrics to the song.
Who do you think you are, runnin' 'round leaving scars? Collecting your jar of hearts, tearing love apart.
"What do you mean "why you?"" She looked almost amused. A smirk sat gently on her lips and her eyes said that she was laughing on the inside. I gave her a look, and she sighed. "Think about it, you're a playboy!"
I looked at my feet and thought about it. I'd been with a total of at least fifty girls in the past two years alone. I'd slept with forty of them. Hey, I'd been nice enough to leave twenty percent with their special flower! But, I think maybe Shane was right. Maybe I was a (as she called it) playboy.
"Never mind…" Wonderful, even more added to my mind full of random, dangerous and strange thoughts.
"Yet, you do have your moments." All of the thoughts that had been on my mind three seconds ago disappeared, and I suddenly felt as if the sky had been lifted off my shoulders.
"I do?"
She chuckled. "Yes, you do." She stated, smiling straight ahead. "You can be a wonderful person when you want to be. And an amazing best friend."
I smiled, and felt the urge to grab her hand seize me. Yet, I didn't. And I had two wonderful reasons. First, what would she think? Then there was the fact that my hand was broken.
"Whoa, Senor Dream Land, we turn here."
I jerked myself out of my thoughts and looked to my right, where Shane was standing with her hand gripping my forearm. I stared at that hand as she gently dragged me into the room.
"Hello, Madame Pomfrey."
"Dear, what've you done now, Mr. Black?" The elderly woman asked sternly as she frowned at me. "I hope it's nothing too serious."
"No, no, nothing serious at all, Madame Pomfrey, just a broken hand." Shane answered for me, lifting her hand which, in turn, pulled mine up as well.
"Goodness me, how long have you had this, Mr. Black?" She moved to my side, grabbing my hand from Shane's, and looked at the lump that had formed on my knuckle. It wasn't a good thing that it was turning purple, was it?
"Not very long." I answered, watching the bump curiously.
"A max of twenty minutes." Shane answered, pacing over to the bookshelf on the other side of the room where Madame Pomfrey kept her medical journals. She began flipping through the pages of a random book, and soon sat down on one of the many empty beds.
Madame Pomfrey forced me onto one of the beds and then left to find some Skele-Gro, mumbling about broken wrist and cracked knuckles. Once she had disappeared into the medical cabinet, I stood and rushed to sit beside Shane.
"What're you reading?" I asked as I peered over her slim shoulder. I could see a title higher up on the left page. It read "Magical Bugs and Diseases." Beneath it was several smaller words and a few subtitles.
"A medical journal on Spattergroit." Ah, I knew Spattergroit well. My cousin, Bellatrix, had had it for several months, but still managed to somehow keep up with her schoolwork while at home. She looked horrible those months, thought I never got close enough to take a really good look. Spattergroit is extremely contagious.
"Fascinating." I stated monotonously. It really wasn't at all interesting.
"You're telling me." She said, slamming the book shut and standing to put it back on the shelf. "Now, you better get back in that bed if you want to live through tomorrow, because Pomfrey's coming back."
I yelped and stumbled back over to the bed on the other side of the room. I'd just thrown myself onto the mattress as Madame Pomfrey came out of the cabinet.
"Drink this." She forced a small cup into my good hand, and I stared at the murky green liquid inside. I'd always hated this stuff. But, I pushed back all of my dislikes and forced it down my throat. "I'll give you a splint and let you go to your room for the night. Don't lay on it."
Soon enough, my arm was wrapped up and I was on my feet. I poked at the material I knew so well, having broken many, many bones during my six years previous in Hogwarts. This was minor compared to some of my Quidditch injuries, so I was satisfied. Plus, I got to sleep in my own bed. That was a rare occurrence with Madame Pomfrey.
"Check in tomorrow after breakfast!" Pomfrey yelled as Shane and I began to walk in the opposite direction in which we came.
"Sure." I said, getting my voice to reach the elderly woman without much enthusiasm. "Where are we headed?"
Shane smiled. "The common room, I'm tired and you need your rest." She said, yawn and pushing her arms into the air.
"But I'm not tired."
"You think I give a damn whether or not you're tired?" She asked, glancing at me with an amused look on her face. "I'm tired, and therefore I shall go to bed. Being in an empty tower makes me feel weird, so you're going to sleep, too."
"You have the strangest sense of logic." I shook my head and rubbed at my temple with my good hand. "How can someone so stupid be so brilliant?"
"Ah ha, so I'm brilliant!"
"Scratch that, just stupid."
"Playboy."
"Book worm."
"Screwed up womanizer!"
"I love you, too."
A/N: I'm posting this chapter a few days early. It would've normally been posted on Thursday of this week, but I have a big announcement. As of today, I have a PhotoBucket account. Using this account, I have posted visuals for this story. Now, you can see what I pictured Shane, Kenneth and several items as. If you search SummerParamour on PhotoBucket, you'll find me.
In other news, this is probably one of my favorite chapters. It's all thanks to that little brawl at the end! I have some absolutely wonderful chapters coming your way soon as well. Included in these chapters will be birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, Tragedy and lots and lots of BUTTERBEER!
Reviews are love...
:D
R&R
